Munster's Lia Sotiropoulos, playing through pain, keeps ‘fighting all season long.' She wants her last shot.
The 5-foot-5 Sotiropoulos was a point guard earlier in her career, but she shifted off the ball during her sophomore season.
'Shooting, that's what I do best on the court,' she said. 'I just really try to get up shots whenever I can.'
Not that shooting is all Sotiropoulos does.
'No matter what you're doing, hustle doing it, just run as fast as you can,' she said. 'If you can't score, if you play defense, you're fine.'
But Sotiropoulos, who averages 6.1 points this season, has connected on her fair share of shots for the Mustangs. She set a program record for 3-pointers in a game on Dec. 22, 2023, going 7 of 11 for a career-high 23 points. She eclipsed the previous mark of six 3-pointers.
'I remember when I was 12 and I saw that record, I was like, 'That's the one I want,'' Sotiropoulos said. 'That's a goal I had for myself by the end of high school, and I desperately wanted it. So when I got it, it was surreal.
'When I got the seventh, everyone was screaming. You get filled with adrenaline. After the game, you still can't really process it.'
Munster (14-9) will play Lake Central (16-7) in a Class 4A Crown Point Sectional semifinal on Friday night. The Mustangs dropped the teams' regular-season meeting Dec. 3 and have lost to the Indians in sectional games in each of the past two seasons.
Munster coach DeAndre Williams quipped about Sotiropoulos' potential role in this edition of the rivalry game.
'I'm hoping she gets eight Friday,' he said.
Williams described Sotiropoulos' overall impact.
'She's a great shooter,' he said. 'She's a great leader. We look to her to shoot the ball as much as possible Friday night. I told her any room you get, let it go, let it fly.
'I tell them, 'This is win or go home, so there's no holding back. If you're going to go out, let's go out with a bang. Let's leave everything on the floor Friday night.' So I told her to go out there, she's a great shooter, and if she gets open looks, let it go.'
Sotiropoulos, who moved into the starting lineup this season for the first time after star Gracyn Gilliard transferred to Center Grove, has been dealing with abdominal pain throughout the season. She started experiencing it in April.
'I woke up one day, and it felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach, and it wouldn't go away,' Sotiropoulos said. 'I had these days where my stomach would be in constant pain.'
Multiple visits to doctors and tests didn't reveal much.
'Nobody could tell me what was going on,' Sotiropoulos said. 'We still really can't pinpoint what's going on. But I've been able to control it better lately, and I know when it's coming, and I can feel when it's going to start acting up again. It's been better lately.'
Williams appreciates how Sotiropoulos has pushed forward.
'She's been battling for most of the season,' he said. 'Sometimes she gets a little fatigued, but she's a warrior. She's overcome it. She didn't let it stop her. She comes to practice every single day. She's been fighting all season long.
'She's just a wonderful young lady to have in this program. I'm extremely proud of her.'
Sotiropoulos will be joining the National Guard, with basic training likely at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and job training in military intelligence in Arizona. She intends to start attending Indiana for the second semester and study forensic psychology there.
Sotiropoulos has cultivated a productive mindset this season.
'I started being more confident,' she said. 'Senior year, it's your last chance. The fear you had when you were a junior and a sophomore, it goes away. You don't have another chance at it. If you don't do it now, you're not going to have another chance.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
SMU coach calls ESPN rankings system 'rigged' after latest Football Power Index update
SMU head football coach Rhett Lashlee is doubling down on his belief that ESPN favorites certain conferences with their rankings. ESPN released its first Football Power Index rankings in June. The Mustangs came out as No. 20 among college football teams entering the 2025 season, though ACC teams like Miami (No. 9) and Clemson (No. 11) were higher on the list. The Football Power Index is a "measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season." Now, ESPN updated those rankings on Friday, and the Mustangs, coming off a surprise College Football Playoff trip after going 11-3 last season, only moved up one spot to No. 19. Miami and Clemson, though, took a tumble to No. 17 and No. 16 respectively. This led Lashlee to call ESPN's ranking system a farce. "Because the whole thing is rigged," he wrote on X. Lashlee was also vocal during last season, where he questioned his belief that the ACC and the Big 12 were disrespected compared to the Big Ten and the SEC, calling the latter "top-heavy." "There's other leagues that claim depth," Lashlee said, per the New York Post. "The SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. Same six. Not a single one has been different since 1964. That's top-heavy to me. That's not depth." Lashlee clearly doesn't just believe in his Mustangs to have more success heading into 2025, but he wants some more respect for the schools he'll be going up against. Clemson, led by veteran head coach Dabo Swinney, was the school that beat SMU during the 2024 ACC Championship, 34-31, though Lashlee's group was the favorite in the tilt at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lashlee's quest to lead his Mustangs to more success in 2025 begins with their first game against East Texas A&M on Aug. 30.
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Preston Stone, a graduate transfer from SMU, takes over Northwestern QB job with ‘earned confidence'
Preston Stone has found that summers in Evanston come with a natural team-bonding activity. The quarterback transfer from SMU and his new Northwestern teammates often wrap up workouts and head straight to the beach. The trips have served as more than just a method to cool off in a summer not nearly as hot as the Dallas ones Stone knows. 'The biggest thing with that is having great relationships,' Stone said after Northwestern's seventh training camp practice last week. 'Establishing that first, so that opens the door where if I have to get into a guy a little bit or vice versa, they know it's coming from a great place.' Coach David Braun was pleased with how quickly Stone built relationships with his new teammates when he arrived on campus in January. Within three weeks, the Wildcats voted Stone onto their leadership council, well before it was publicly official that he would be Northwestern's starter this season. Braun made that announcement at Big Ten media days last month in Las Vegas, disclosing that 2024 starter Jack Lausch left the team to focus on his baseball career. Lausch threw for 1,714 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in 10 starts for the 4-8 Wildcats last season. Stone said Lausch was one of his favorite players in the locker room when he arrived. But Stone also settled in Evanston with a starting mindset. 'Kind of since Day 1, I've had the mentality that I'm going to do what it takes to get on the field,' he said. 'That starts in the locker room, weight room and winter workouts. So whether it was a public announcement or not, I've always had the mentality of, 'Put the blinders on and I'm going to do what I need to do to prove myself.'' Stone, a four-star high school recruit with offers from some of the biggest college programs, including Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten, lost the starting job three games into his junior season at SMU. As a sophomore, he threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions in 12 starts for the Mustangs before breaking his leg in late November 2023. He returned in time to be a part of a quarterback rotation for the 2024 season. But he lost the starting job to Kevin Jennings when coach Rhett Lashlee said the Mustangs simply moved the ball better with Jennings at the helm. As Jennings led SMU to a College Football Playoff berth, Stone said he had to embrace a 'servant leader' role to help his teammates from the sideline. 'You put in all of the work in the offseason — and even going back to when you're a little kid, you dream of being the guy out there on Saturdays — and then when that opportunity is taken away from you, it can hurt from a personal standpoint,' Stone said. 'But those guys on the field are still the same guys you've been putting in work this whole offseason with. 'So I feel like that experience, it was humbling for sure and also gave me so much more of an appreciation for the opportunity I'm going to have this year.' Stone called his entry into the transfer portal in December 'a crazy experience.' He was trying to help SMU prepare for its first-round CFP matchup with Penn State. He was in the middle of finals as he prepared to graduate. And he also was having conversations with a few potential new teams, with a little more than a week to make his decision. His talks with Braun and Northwestern offensive coordinator Zach Lujan stood out. 'There was just a level of sincerity and belief in myself that I felt like was different (with Braun),' Stone said. 'Getting an opportunity to meet with him to see how good of a leader, how good of a coach he was, that played a huge part in it. 'Getting to sit down with Coach Lujan for a couple hours and seeing how he gives the quarterback the keys to the car. It's a very empowering position in his offense and the way he does things, and I feel like those two things were a huge differentiator.' Now Stone and the Wildcats hope they can lift each other up after their separate 2024 disappointments. In the months he has worked with Stone, Braun said the quarterback's high-level processing, deep-ball accuracy and sound decision-making while on the move have stood out. In meetings and player-coach dialogues, Stone's knowledge of the game comes through. And Braun said he has been 'blown away' by Stone's ability to connect with teammates. 'Not only from an offensive perspective, but our entire team believes in that guy and wants to battle for that guy,' Braun said. 'And that's a common thread of the winning quarterbacks that I've been around throughout my career.' Braun was open about the 'self-evaluation' required after last season's dip to 4-8 following an 8-5 debut season in 2023 in which he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. He has tried to set clearer lines of communication and clearer standards the players must meet. Stone must play a key role in setting those standards, and he said he tries to build the trust of his coaches and teammates 'coming from a place of earned confidence.' 'There's potential to step on the field and tell yourself you're confident without actually putting the work in,' Stone said. 'So the biggest thing for me was just establishing my work ethic for the sake of myself and earning that confidence for myself, but also to establish that relationship with my teammates. They've seen the kind of work I've put in, so they can feel confident in me stepping on the field as well.'
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Newsweek
NASCAR Playoff Bubble Battle Explodes After Watkins Glen Drama
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The battle over the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is heating up after the race at Watkins Glen. RFK Racing drivers Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher are vying for the 16th spot. At The Glen, Buescher finished third, netting him a notable points haul, while Preece ended up lower in the classification, ending the race in 13th place. Preece was upset with the result when speaking to the media, noting how tightly contested the race for a spot in the playoffs is. Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Nexlizet Ford, (C) speaks to Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Ford, (L) and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford, backstage during pre-race ceremonies... Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Nexlizet Ford, (C) speaks to Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Ford, (L) and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford, backstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2025 in Watkins Glen, New York. More Photo by"You can definitely manage those expectations, but I f****** hate losing, so it's hard to do that... I want to go to Richmond, and I want to f****** do everything it takes to win," Preece told reporters. "A lot of passion with racing, so it's nice to be in the position where I'm racing again." Preece is now 34 points behind Buescher for 16th place following the race. Buescher earned 44 points, 11 points more than Preece's 33-point haul. Even though he grew his advantage over Preece, Buescher was left disappointed not to fight for the race win, but seemed content with the weekend overall. "At the end of the day, the next two weeks need to be solid weeks," the No. 17 car driver said. "We need to go there, bring fast Mustangs — and we need to win. I keep spewing the same line because I certainly hate points racing. "While it didn't give us a bad result by any means today, you have to think it hinders your best opportunity to win. It's the situation we're in - we get it." The top 13 spots in the Cup Series playoffs are locked in already, with the bottom three spots still yet to be decided. Tyler Reddick is 117 points clear and should get safely into the playoffs after the upcoming two races. Alex Bowman sits 60 points above the bubble, sitting securely in P15 unless he has two terrible race weekends. Buescher is the former 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and has won six times in his Cup Series career, spanning 10 years. He won both Richmond and Daytona back in 2023 - putting him in the driver's seat for the 16th spot unless Preece pulls out some magic at the last two races. For more NASCAR news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
