Marist’s Lily Porter dug deep into her memory bank in delivering several elite defensive plays.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore forward conjured up childhood days of competing against her older brother, Jimmy, who rejected almost every shot attempt she tried on the family’s basketball court.
“I always played with him and he blocked the heck out of every shot,” Lily said, laughing. “I would go into the house crying, but I realized that it just toughened me up.
“I grew up in a gym, and being from a basketball family really made me into the player I am now. I’ve taken what Jimmy told me, but I’ve also made my own person.”
Lily Porter, it is. She picked up eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots Thursday night for Marist in a 59-40 win over Lincoln-Way West in the Class 4A Rich Township Sectional championship game.
Junior point guard Olivia Cosme had 19 points, eight steals and four assists in leading the RedHawks (26-8), who will play Kenwood (32-3) at 7 p.m. Monday in the Hinsdale Central Supersectional. Cosme also made five 3-pointers.
Junior forward Lucy Cosme, Olivia’s cousin, also scored 10 points as Marist captured its first sectional title since 2012. Senior center Madison Vrdolyak made a pair of 3-pointers and contributed eight points. Sophomore forward Caroline Flynn added six points and six rebounds.
Junior guard Molly Finn connected on six 3-pointers in scoring 18 points for Lincoln-Way West (23-12). Junior guard Ava Tisch chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Porter, meanwhile, was the defensive anchor and rim protector who denied the Warriors any easy access to the basket, forcing them to shoot almost exclusively from distance.
Lincoln-Way West made only one 2-point basket during the first half.
“Getting a clean block is the thing that makes me the happiest,” she said. “They were known as a shooting team, and I think we forced them to put up bad shots or shots they don’t normally take.
“They were scared to drive because they knew we had help. Protecting the rim is something that makes me the happiest.”
Olivia Cosme said Porter’s development has been a crucial part of the RedHawks’ remarkable transformation from a 10-win team last season.
“She’s a young player, but she plays like an older player,” Olivia Cosme said. “She’s progressed so much from where she was a year ago. She’s gotten better, and we’ve all improved.
“She rebounds the heck out of the ball. She can get those easy baskets and has nice moves around the basket.”
Porter and Flynn grew up as fierce neighborhood rivals in the Southwest Catholic Conference.
“We played against each other all the time in grammar school and now we’re on the same team,” Flynn said. “She does it all out there. She sees the floor really well.
“She’s a great passer and she can attack the basket.”
Last season, Lily played with her middle sister, Mary Kate, who’s now a freshman engineering student at Purdue. Her older sister, Erin, also played at Marist.
Lily, however, has come into her own this season.
“I worked a lot over the summer on my game because I knew I wanted to start,” Porter said. “With my game, I like to drive more than shoot and I’m better now at finishing.
“What really makes me smile is to get those offensive rebounds. That’s where I really think I help the team the most — getting the blocks and the offensive rebounds.”
And now, Porter has powered her team toward the path of reaching state.
“It has always been my dream to win a state championship and we’re one step closer,” Porter said. “I think at the beginning of the year, my confidence might have been down or uncertain.
“This season has really meant a lot not just to me but my teammates. We’ve all gotten better.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
