Considering her grandfather and father were both boys basketball coaches, Oswego East’s Aubrey Lamberti has been around the sport since she was very young. And for good reason.
She comes from a basketball family, so it was only natural that she took up the game early.
“I was put into basketball,” Lamberti said, confirming the familial influence on her athletic career. “I did a couple of other sports, too. I think I just fell in love with the game right away.”
The junior forward has used that passion become a key contributor for the Wolves.
Her entire repertoire on display Wednesday night as Lamberti poured in a game-high 23 points to lead visiting Oswego East to a 62-51 Suburban Prairie West win at Oswego.
Lamberti shot 5 of 8 from 3-point range and added 10 rebounds and five steals for Oswego East (11-7, 5-3). Maggie Lewandowski and Desiree Merritt chipped in with 14 points apiece.
Kendall Grant scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half for Oswego (10-12, 3-7). Maggie Voller added 11 for the Panthers.
Lamberti wasted little time getting going Wednesday. She shot 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and hit a 3-pointer as the Wolves built a 21-7 lead after a quarter.
“In warm-ups, I got a lot of shots up, I felt good and I continued that with my teammates,” Lamberti said. “They found me getting open.”
Lamberti also got hot to start the second half. She hit a 3-pointer to kick off the scoring, followed by an assist to Merritt on the Wolves’ next possession.
Then, Lamberti hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to 45-27. Oswego East led by as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter.
“The girl can play,” Oswego East coach Abe Carretto said of Lamberti. “The nice thing was she didn’t hesitate on those shots. She got inside a little bit, good passing. I thought she played pretty well defensively, too. That was nice to see her get rolling a little bit.”
When Lamberti heats up from the perimeter, it gives Lewandowski, who loves getting downhill and going to the basket, more room to operate.
“It really helps open things up for Maggie more when she starts hitting,” Carretto said of Lamberti. “That helps Maggie or ‘Des’ attack a little bit more.”
Lamberti said she and Lewandowski feed off of each other. When things roll like they did Wednesday, it makes the Wolves a dangerous team.
“When one of us is shooting well, we can drive and it leaves people open,” Lamberti said. “It helps multiple people. Everyone knocked down shots, so that helped.
“One of the things we practice all the time is transition, and (Carretto) really stresses pushing it and making the other team get tired right off the bat.”
Oswego ended the game on an 18-4 burst, but the 25-point deficit was too much to overcome.
“Too little, too late,” Oswego coach Dave Lay said. “We’ve been doing that way too much this year. We get into a big hole and think we’re going to turn on the light switch and fight out of it.
“We ran out of time. The last five minutes, that’s how we should have played the whole game.”
Lamberti knows that because her grandfather, Tom, is the former boys coach at Bartlett and her father, Steve, also coached the boys at Plainfield Central.
Carretto enjoys coaching players like Lamberti who are immersed in the game from a young age.
“Any time you get her or other players that have been coached, it makes it easier,” Carretto said. “They get what you’re doing and what you’re trying to accomplish.”
And Lamberti is proud to keep the family legacy going.
“My dad always taught me the right way to play and how to be a good teammate,” Lamberti said. “I think that’s really helped improve my game as a good teammate as well.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
