Key injuries prove costly for Lisle

When the injury bug bites it doesn't nibble, it goes for the jugular.

Lisle found that out the hard way on Thursday night when injuries to two key players contributed to a tough 48-23 loss to Reed-Custer in an Interstate Eight Conference girls basketball game.

"Let's face it, the ball is in (senior guard) Natalie Takahashi's hands 80 percent of the time and the other 10-15 percent it's in (junior guard) McKenzie Weaver's hands," Lisle coach Nick Balaban said after the game. "So now we need to figure out how we are going to play without those two players."

Before Takahashi left the game, the Lions held an 8-5 lead early in the second quarter. But then she hurt her lower leg in the second quarter.

Lisle players not named Takahashi went 4 for 18 from the field as the Lions struggled without their senior leader. Weaver left the game in the third quarter after a hard fall.

"The effort was there, but when you lose (Takahashi and Weaver), last year they started every game for us and to lose your starting backcourt for a significant period of time (is tough)," Balaban said. "It's now a matter of everybody filling roles, somebody has to step up and increase their role."

After Takahashi's injury the Comets went on a 12-3 run to gain a 6-point advantage heading into halftime. Reed-Custer's twin towers of Kylie Balgemann and Antionette Hill were highly effective in the first half. Hill dropped 8 points on 3-for-5 shooting and Balgemann added 4 points despite playing with three fouls.

"(Hill) and Balgemann are big forces inside for us," said Reed-Custer coach Nick Klein. "Lisle doesn't really have the size and we could really pound it inside early and get some easy shots. I thought they did a great job going to the glass and getting second chance buckets."

Reed-Custer came out of halftime on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 13 points and never looked back. Sophomore Jaden Christian supplemented Hill's 17 points with 15 points of her own.

With the loss Lisle fell to 6-3 and 2-2 in conference play. Reed-Custer improved to 2-7 on the season. It was the big win against a quality opponent that the Comets needed.

"Our record isn't great right now, but we've played some really quality competition in the first quarter of our schedule here," Klein said. "I really believe that this is going to be the game that is the turning point for us."