Oswego East star Aubrey Lamberti was determined to help her team get off to a fast start against Downers Grove South on Thursday.

The senior guard knew that in a matchup of teams searching for their first win after opening the season with two losses, whoever jumped ahead first likely had a good chance of winning.

“We talked before the game about our weaknesses in the past games and anything that we can do to kind of improve, we could try right off the get-go,” Lamberti said. “We communicated well and just bonded really well and jelled.

“As a senior, I’m trying to be a good leader and kind of take control and help my team. So I do that to the best of my ability in any way.”

This time, that meant scoring the first seven points for the Wolves and 12 of their 16. Lamberti opened the game by draining a 3-pointer, then making a steal and layup off a full-court press. She followed that by scoring on a putback for a 7-2 lead.

It was a sign of things to come for Lamberti, who finished with a game-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds, four steals and an assist in Oswego East’s 60-40 victory at the York Thanksgiving Tournament.

Oswego East coach Abe Carretto has seen Lamberti be a difference-maker before.

“She usually is,” Carretto said. “Whether it’s the defensive end or on the offensive end, she does some really good things, especially when things are rolling pretty well. She gets into a good flow there and just kind of continues going.”

Lamberti’s play helped the Wolves (1-2) take a 16-8 lead after the first quarter.

The Mustangs (0-3) cut the deficit to 23-16 on an inside basket from 6-foot-1 senior center Megan Ganschow with 2:05 left in the second quarter, but the Wolves closed the half with an 11-0 run.

Ja’liyah Shepard and Nicole Warbinski sank 3-pointers which bookended a driving layup from Avaya Kittling-Turner and a three-point play by Lamberti to give the Wolves a 34-16 halftime cushion.

Kittling-Turner finished with eight points, while Warbinski added seven points and Shepard six for the Wolves, who forced 29 turnovers while committing only 10.

“We came out scared and not ready,” Downers South coach Lyndsie Long said. “We have a young team and they were kind of playing on their heels instead of handling the pressure, which led to bad passes and turnovers. No one was confident with the ball tonight.”

The one bright spot was Ganschow. The Wright State commit, who missed her junior year after ACL surgery, had a monster effort for the Mustangs, racking up a team-high 18 points to go with a game-high 22 rebounds and three blocks.

Ganschow made 6 of 11 shots, including a 3-pointer in the third quarter, but the Mustangs could get no closer than 10 points after halftime. The Wolves made sure she got little help from her teammates.

“She’s a phenomenal player, so we kind of talked about making sure we were putting pressure on the point guards to lessen how much she gets the ball,” Lamberti said. “I felt like our help side was double-teaming her when she gets the ball.

“It was really great tonight. We really were bonding as a team, which translated to the offense.”

That bonding hasn’t happened yet for the Mustangs, who lack experience and size. They have only two players taller than 5-7.

“We just need to fix some things,” Long said. “We have two freshmen starting.

“We know where the road is going to lead us, and playing tough competition is helping us figure out what we need to work on, so that’s all we can look forward to right now.”

Well, that and perhaps a big season from Ganschow, a four-year varsity player.

“I appreciate Megan,” Long said. “She’s diving on the floor, rebounding. She’s doing the hustle plays on top of everything else.

“We’re excited for her senior season and hopefully we can fit a few pieces of the puzzle together and be ready to go come conference time.”