Lincoln-Way East’s Kennedy Johnson lost a part of her tooth Tuesday night, had it fixed Wednesday and was smiling brightly Thursday.
The junior forward took an elbow to the mouth Tuesday against Lincoln-Way West.
“My front left tooth was chipped,” she said. “Someone’s arm went straight back into my face. I saw it on the floor. The ref actually stepped on it, so we had to look around a little more for it.
“It was no big deal.”
Maybe not for Johnson, who returned to the game shortly thereafter, but veteran Griffins coach Jim Nair has seen this scenario in the past.
“I had a girl who did the same thing a few years back,” Nair said. “She immediately went to the cosmetic dentist midgame. When it happened to Kennedy, two minutes later, she was back in.”
Johnson also was back Thursday night, drawing even more admiration from her coaches and teammates for toughing it out by scoring Lincoln-Way Eight’s first seven points in a 47-40 SouthWest Suburban Conference stunner over host Homewood-Flossmoor in Flossmoor.
Overall, Johnson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Griffins (13-7, 3-3), who snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Vikings and beat them for the first time since a 34-32 win on Jan. 23, 2018. Lincoln-Way East lost 61-51 to H-F on Dec. 23 in Frankfort.
Alaina Vargas added 12 points and five rebounds for the Griffins, while Emerson Nilsson chipped in with nine points. Lincoln-Way East owned a hefty 27-11 advantage on the boards, with the Vikings getting just three in the second half.
H-F (14-7, 6-2) was led by Aunyai Deere with 16 points and three steals.
Johnson, however, set the tone right away for Lincoln-Way East by producing seven points in the opening four minutes and tallied three of the Griffins’ first four rebounds.
“The energy was up,” she said. “We knew we had to go crazy because it was a physical game. It felt great. It was one of those days.”
It was one of those days that Vargas has seen before from her teammate.
“Kennedy brings heart and a tough toughness,” Vargas said. “She’s played through a broken tooth, concussions, everything.
“I mean, there is not another girl who is going to be tougher than her.”
Nair was happy for the early effort since the Griffins have struggled against H-F over the years.
“They do a good job and they pressure you so much,” Nair said of the Vikings. “She was kind of a safety valve and we were able to get it to her a little bit on our half-court offense.
“She’s one of our toughest kids. She leads us in charges. She’s right up there in rebounds. She’ll put it in the basket, and she’s a pretty good free throw shooter.”
Johnson said she has been playing the sport since fifth grade.
“I just picked up a ball and said, ‘I like this,’’’ she said. “And I kept with it. I love the energy and just being with your team and getting it together and winning games.”
This is the first season the SouthWest Suburban Conference is not being broken up into divisions for girls basketball, with the nine teams playing each other twice.
While Lincoln-Way East had its ups and downs in conference play, knocking off H-F was huge for confidence.
“I’ve never won here — not in my varsity years,” Vargas said. “We know every game in the conference is going to be a battle. It’s a matter of staying mentally here and playing hard.
“That’s really it.”
And for Johnson, it was a really good example of what can be for the Griffins.
“If everyone comes together, we know what we have to do to win,” Johnson said. “It works well.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
