Girls Basketball notes: Winona State recruit Hailey Markworth leading an 11-1 Lyons team deep in scorers

Hailey Markworth makes for an ideal fit to lead Lyons.

Markworth, a 5-foot-10 senior guard and Winona State recruit, is perfectly capable of carrying a team offensively when called upon. She hit two critical baskets in the final minute of last Friday’s big win over Downers Grove North.

Markworth, though, is just fine sharing the ball.

“I think our No. 1 strength as a team is our scorers go so deep; in any given game anybody can score in super high numbers, and we are all unselfish players,” Markworth said. “It lines up perfectly with how I play. I think we all feed off of each other’s strengths.”

It’s made for quite an impressive start. Lyons is 11-1 after Monday’s win over Edwardsville, its only loss to Benet, and is unbeaten atop the West Suburban Silver.

The Lions are doing it with balance on offense and the ability to score at any position. That was never more evident than against Edwardsville, when five girls scored in double figures, led by Olivia Mezan’s 16 points. Markworth and Izzy Lee each scored 13 points.

“What is so special is each one of them can step up and be the main scorer and they share the ball so well and they care about each other’s successes,” Lyons coach Meghan Hutchens said. “In my eyes, that is special.”

Hutchens, in her fourth season, appears to be building something special at Lyons. The Lions two seasons ago went 19-10, the program’s most wins in 15 years, and followed that up with a 12-3 record in last season’s abridged schedule.

Hutchens credits the girls she has coached in the past in helping build a winning culture that’s clearly carried over to Markworth and Lyons’ current senior class.

“She has really bought in, all the girls have,” Hutchens said. “I knew this group would be special. At the beginning of the year we did a survey asking the girls where they fit on the team, and how they see the season going for the team individually and as a team. Their responses all led me to believe that this would be a special team. It’s showing through our presence on the court.”

Markworth’s presence is felt with her on-court leadership, poise with the ball and cool under pressure. She’s shared the point guard position with junior Ella Ormsby, grooming her to take on the team’s leadership role next season.

Markworth scored the game-winning basket with 7.6 seconds left against Downers Grove North. Against Edwardsville, Markworth wasn’t fazed when a 6-foot-3 girl was switched onto guard her.

Hutchens in some respects compares Markworth to Chicago Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot for her ability to find openings in defenses to make pinpoint passes, and with her control unique to find in a basketball player.

“She has the collectiveness to calmly pass and find that thread through the defense,” Hutchens said. “She is doing such great things, finding her presence. She put in a ton of work in the summer and the fall.”

Markworth is quick to dish off an assist to her teammates for helping her maintain her poise.

“The support from everyone makes it easy to feel comfortable out there,” Markworth said.

Montini gets big win to build on

Montini’s 43-37 win over previously unbeaten Loyola was a nice confidence-booster for a team that might be better than its record would indicate.

The Lady Broncos are 7-4, but those four losses have come by a combined 17 points. They include a two-point overtime loss to Fremd and one-point loss to Barrington.

“That Loyola win showed us that we are a good team,” Montini coach Shannon Spanos said. “These girls need to believe in ourselves. We just need to keep working and get better every day. It is a process and we are trying to trust the process. The competition and being in these kinds of games will only help come tournament time.”

It’s a young group that starts two sophomores, a junior and two seniors, with freshmen and sophomores coming off the bench.

One of those sophomore starters, Victoria Matulevicius, is averaging a team-high 15 points and 5 rebounds. Junior Shannon Blacher is averaging 14 points and 5.5 rebounds, senior Sam Mogilinski 10 points and senior Sawyer White 8 points and an impressive 6 rebounds for a guard.

“We are very young, and that is exciting to be honest,” Spanos said. “That maturity will come.”

Key to the Loyola win was playing both ends of the court, particularly on the defensive side.

“We locked in on defense, offensively hit some big shots and made some big plays, but it all comes back to defense,” Spanos said. “When we play both ends of the court we are a tough team.”

They’ll need to be at their upcoming Montini Christmas Tournament, in its 12th year. Six of the 16 teams at the event – Naperville North, Loyola, Nazareth, St. Charles East, Lyons and Huntley – only have one loss apiece.

“It will be pretty competitive, which is great,” Spanos said. “We were disappointed that we couldn’t have it last year because of COVID. We are upping our game and trying to make it the best tournament we can for our kids. They have missed out on so much already.”

Grow the Game Tournament

The second “Grow the Game Tournament,” which aims to raise awareness about the importance of equality and giving all girls and women the opportunity to lead, compete, collaborate, and honor one another through the game of basketball, was held this week at New Trier and North Central College.

Lyons and Glenbard West were among the teams competing at the event.

In addition to the basketball, Lyons had the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Lisa Byington of the Milwaukee Bucks, the first woman to work as a full-time television play-by-play announcer for any major men’s professional sports team.

“I thought the girls took a lot from it,” Hutchens said. “The girls can see where we have come and respect the females in their life. That was a big focus for us going into the tournament. Give credit to [New Trier coach] Teri [Rodgers]. It’s special that we have those veteran coaches leading the way for people like ourselves.”