By Michael Wojtychiw
London Walker-George is new to the Public League. The senior transferred into Kenwood from DePaul College Prep this season in hopes of helping bolster the Broncos’ chances at not only a deep state run but a city championship that has recently eluded the program.
The UIC commit got her team to that title game by going 8-of-8 form the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line en route to 24 points, helping the Broncos to a 69-52 win over Phillips. Walker-George was one of four starters who scored in double digits, with Danielle Brooks and Icesis Thomas scoring 14 apiece and Arielle Henigan, who finished with 10 points.
“I had a lot of energy from the start,” Walker-George said about her day. “That got my confidence to where I knew I could keep doing it.
“This year has been different from others, for sure. You play in a lot of big games and sometimes I get nervous but I have a team that will be able to have my back and be able to push me because they’ve been here before.”
The Broncos were in control from the start.
Running out to a 12-4 lead halfway through the opening quarter, Kenwood was in control from the beginning, forcing nine Phillips turnovers in the first quarter, taking a 21-14 lead after the first eight minutes.
It was another Public League newcomer, Phillips’ Daijia Cohen, who tried to keep her team in the game in the second quarter.
The transfer from Leyden scored nine points in the quarter, finishing with 15 for the half, but the Broncos were still able to extend their lead to 16, 44-28 at the half.
“This year has been a different style of game, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” Cohen said. “The whole city league atmosphere, the big games, it’s been a lot of fun.
“Losing is tough but all I could think about was how I could help my team on the court tonight and how I could make everyone better.”
Kenwood knows that if it’s going to win a city title, it’s going to have ot knock off three-time defending champion Young, who took down Lane in the night’s opener 80-47.
The Lady Dolphins have defeated the Broncos in the city title game in each of the past two seasons.
“They’re a great team, a great program, we jate to lose, they hate to lose,” Lewis said. “It should be fun.”
The two face off Saturday evening at 5 pm at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be televised live on WCIU’s The U.
Young 80, Lane 47
Destiny Jackson and her Dolphin teammates have one goal in mind: a city championship four-peat.
No team has accomplished that in girls basketball since Young did when it won titles from 2009-2016.
The current edition of the program, led by alumna Krissy Harper, got one step closer Wednesday courtesy of Jackson’s 29 points. The Dolphins took down Lane 80-47 to move on to Saturday’s title game at Credit Union 1 Arena, where it’ll once again face Kenwood for a city championship.
“For us, this is something that we had marked on the calendar at the beginning of the year,” Harper said. “Something that we needed to do. Doing a four-peat is something we’ve talked about since Destiny’s freshman year, so I have no doubt that’s what we’re going to do.”
Young used a huge second quarter to help extend a 16-12 first-quarter lead into 39-21 at the half.
That 23-9 quarter was buoyed by Jackson’s 11 points and saw the Dolphins hit 10-of-14 shots from the field.
“My mindset coming in was knowing we had a goal in mind, one that I want the best for my team, the best for myself, so I was going to do the best I could to put us in that position.”
In preparation for what Harper feels like will be help down the road, the Dolphins changed their lineup a little to give experience to some of their younger players, so they wouldn’t be wide-eyes when they step onto the court for the city title Saturday.
That included starting freshman Yanni Smith and Makayla Jackson, getting freshman Jordyn Ellis more quality minutes and having a relatively balanced box score.
Outside of Jackson’s 29 points, four players (Alana Shields, Nina Lloyd, Gaby Domercant and Neelah Leach) scored eight points apiece.
Photos by Zoe Davis/OSA
Young vs. Lane
Kenwood vs. Phillips
