Chicago-Area High School News and Scores | Season Pass

For a season opener, Lyons seemed to play better and better after every quarter Friday night to start its own Lyons Thanksgiving tournament .

 

Senior Ashanti Davis scored 14 points and had six rebounds and Lyons did not allow a basket in the second quarter to beat Queen of Peace 51-25 to open the tournament.

 

Peace (0-2) was led by Hannah Lipmen's seven points, five in the first half, in a display of some early season offensive struggles for the Pride. After taking a 12-7 lead to end the first quarter, Lyons allowed only three shots in the second quarter and held Peace without a basket for nearly the entire first half. Peace finally hit a shot with just over 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

 

The shooting drought for the Pride started after Kaitlyn McCarthy's 18-foot jumper near the end of the first quarter. Peace did not score another basket until Lipmen's layup with 4:05 remaining in the third quarter.

 

At that point, Lyons led 30-14. The Pride missed their first three shots in the third quarter and shot 3 of 14 for the quarter.

 

The scoring advantage didn't make Lyons coach Katie Meyers any more satisfied about her team's play. 

 

"We were way to sloppy, we could not hit our shots and we need to attack the basket," Meyers said.

 

Lyons outscored Peace 19-7 in the third quarter and cruised behind Victoria Swift's 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and Sara Beck's 10 points and five rebounds.

 

"Honestly, I thought we could have done a little better," Swift said. "I thought our passes were sloppy and our defense was not good. It was the first game so we have plenty of time to keep working."

 

"It was the opener, so I had first game jitters," said Beck, who scored two points in the first half. "I was tapping my foot (nervously) in the pre-game. In the first half, I froze up."

 

Peace never led in the game and trailed 9-7 with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter despite Davis' seven points. Davis did not take a shot in the second quarter.

 

"Defense will definitely be our strong point," Peace coach Mike Valente said. "We're so young with so many young kids playing. We have two freshmen and three sophomores that need to get used to varsity competition."

 

The tournament continues Saturday with Peace playing West Chicago at 5 p.m. and Lyons hosting Oak Forest, a 36-32 winner over Downers Grove South Friday, at 6:30 p.m. in Western Springs.