A 4-for-19 shooting performance in a Public League semifinal loss to Brooks sure was some solid motivation for Morgan Park’s Shami Goodman.
On Monday night, she got some more, with the Mustangs falling behind 25-7 to visiting Marist after one quarter.
Shaking off her team and individual shooting woes, Goodman stepped up in a big way.
The senior guard scored 13 points to spark a second-quarter comeback and made all the plays down the stretch in a physical 61-53 nonconference win over the RedHawks.
“That loss to Brooks was huge motivation because we’ve got to get ready for state playoffs,” Goodman said. “This year we want to make it all the way, and we’re not looking back.”
Goodman finished with 27 points and four steals to lead Morgan Park (19-4). Tammy Russell added 11 points and Cachet Johnson contributed 10.
Brooke Wyderski led Marist (11-13) with 18 points, including five three-pointers, with Skylar Patterson adding 14 points.
The Mustangs chipped away at Marist’s double-digit, first-half advantage and finally took the lead in the third. Goodman took care of the rest.
“We need that senior leadership, and she’s done it all year,” Morgan Park coach Kedonica Taylor said. “Throw away the bad game, and that’s what leaders do.”
With Morgan Park up 49-47 late in the third, Goodman drove hard down the lane and drew the defense to find Russell for a wide-open layup. Goodman added three more free throws to extend the lead to 54-52 with 39 seconds remaining.
“We were dragging early, just not being ourselves,” Goodman said. “Free throws win games, and every possession counts.”
Marist was called for an intentional foul with the score at 54-53 in the closing seconds and then a subsequent intentional foul after two more Goodman free throws.
Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly was called for a technical for arguing the calls. Morgan Park hit 7-of-8 free throws over the final 16 seconds to ice the game.
“All I’ll say, I didn’t agree with the first call,” a heated Connolly said. “We had their call trapped at halfcourt and we were going for the ball. With the game close, a winnable game, to make that call, [the officials] made sure it wasn’t going to be a winnable game.”
