Girls Basketball: McKenna Engler, Oswego hold off Plainfield East, win one for injured teammate Mia Moore

Engler scores 12 points, hits clutch three as Panthers overcome loss of sophomore guard

OSWEGO – McKenna Engler had several emotions churning inside as she navigated through the last home game of her high school career.

But the toughest had nothing to do with being a senior.

Concern was the mood of Engler, Oswego’s senior guard, and the rest of the Panthers when sophomore teammate Mia Moore went down late in the first quarter of Monday’s first-round game of the season-ending Southwest Prairie Conference tournament against Plainfield East.

Moore was down for several minutes with an apparent shoulder injury, and taken to the hospital. The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes.

“Her being one of our best players and one of our really good friends, it’s really hard to see,” Engler said. “An injury, I don’t wish that on anyone.”

Engler can relate. She had her last two seasons cut short with torn ACLs in her knee. On Monday, though, Engler and Oswego weathered concern for their teammate – and a furious Plainfield East rally – to hold off the Bengals 49-44.

Oswego (7-6) led by 15 when Moore left the game, saw Plainfield East (1-11) cut it to one early in the fourth quarter, but held the Bengals without a field goal for over seven minutes from there to hold on.

“I felt like they got a little rattled, but that’s human nature,” said Oswego coach John Carlson, who left the game with Moore and returned in the fourth quarter. “You care about those people and they care about their teammates. It sounded like they had kind of got back and kept fighting.”

Engler had 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Olivia Solis nine points and Kaila Schlinger nine for Oswego, which advanced to play at West Aurora Wednesday.

Moore added seven points and one of Oswego’s three early 3-pointers during an impressive 20-5 start, until her injury, which she appeared to sustain extending her arm to reach for the ball. Engler and her teammates left the bench for several minutes while Moore was being attended to.

“I feel bad, I love her, I know she’ll be OK and she’s going to come back and we played for her,” Engler said. “Really happy that we could pull off that win for her but we do miss her a lot.”

Engler played like a girl early on eager to make the most of her last home game, with nine points and six rebounds in the first half alone.

“Especially as a senior, every minute, every second, the last time I’ll ever play on this court, that’s just really important,” said Engler, who will play collegiately at Morton College. “During timeouts I’d think about it. You have to play hard every second, never know what’s going to happen.”

Oswego led 32-19 at half, but Plainfield East – which beat the Panthers in the regular season finale on Saturday – got back in it behind two underclassmen.

Taylor French, a 6-foot junior, scored 10 of her 17 points in the third quarter. Jocelyn Trotter, a 5-7 sophomore, scored nine of her 14 in the second half. They keyed a 1-2-2 halfcourt trap that turned several steals into offense. It was 40-36 by the end of the third quarter, and Trotter’s 3-pointer to start the fourth cut the margin to one.

“Both Jocelyn and Taylor play with a motor,” Plainfield East coach Anthony Waznonis said. “We held off on showing our 1-2-2 the first time we played them and it obviously gave [Oswego] some problems with it. Jocelyn and Taylor’s length and athleticism is outstanding with it. They did a nice job of getting in the passing lanes, getting their hands on the ball. Whoever is on the top of that zone gets a lot of releases.”

The Bengals had a chance at the lead, but on successive possessions missed a free throw, turned it over twice and missed another free throw. Plainfield East was just 2-for-9 from the line in the fourth quarter.

“Earlier in the season, a game like this, we probably wouldn’t have fought back,” Waznonis said. “We’re beyond proud of them. The future is bright, the seniors laid a nice foundation.”

Schlinger scored six of her nine points in the third quarter to help Oswego stem Plainfield East’s rally.

Then, with 1:14 left, Engler all but closed it out with a 3-pointer from the right corner for a 49-41 lead.

“That was important,” Engler said. “It sealed the game, and it felt good.”