Latest news with #OliviaCosme
Chicago Tribune
28-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Marist's Lily Porter likes to protect the rim, rebound and block shots. Just like her brother. ‘Made my own person.'
Marist's Lily Porter dug deep into her memory bank in delivering several elite defensive plays. The 5-foot-9 sophomore forward conjured up childhood days of competing against her older brother, Jimmy, who rejected almost every shot attempt she tried on the family's basketball court. 'I always played with him and he blocked the heck out of every shot,' Lily said, laughing. 'I would go into the house crying, but I realized that it just toughened me up. 'I grew up in a gym, and being from a basketball family really made me into the player I am now. I've taken what Jimmy told me, but I've also made my own person.' Lily Porter, it is. She picked up eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots Thursday night for Marist in a 59-40 win over Lincoln-Way West in the Class 4A Rich Township Sectional championship game. Junior point guard Olivia Cosme had 19 points, eight steals and four assists in leading the RedHawks (26-8), who will play Kenwood (32-3) at 7 p.m. Monday in the Hinsdale Central Supersectional. Cosme also made five 3-pointers. Junior forward Lucy Cosme, Olivia's cousin, also scored 10 points as Marist captured its first sectional title since 2012. Senior center Madison Vrdolyak made a pair of 3-pointers and contributed eight points. Sophomore forward Caroline Flynn added six points and six rebounds. Junior guard Molly Finn connected on six 3-pointers in scoring 18 points for Lincoln-Way West (23-12). Junior guard Ava Tisch chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Porter, meanwhile, was the defensive anchor and rim protector who denied the Warriors any easy access to the basket, forcing them to shoot almost exclusively from distance. Lincoln-Way West made only one 2-point basket during the first half. 'Getting a clean block is the thing that makes me the happiest,' she said. 'They were known as a shooting team, and I think we forced them to put up bad shots or shots they don't normally take. 'They were scared to drive because they knew we had help. Protecting the rim is something that makes me the happiest.' Olivia Cosme said Porter's development has been a crucial part of the RedHawks' remarkable transformation from a 10-win team last season. 'She's a young player, but she plays like an older player,' Olivia Cosme said. 'She's progressed so much from where she was a year ago. She's gotten better, and we've all improved. 'She rebounds the heck out of the ball. She can get those easy baskets and has nice moves around the basket.' Porter and Flynn grew up as fierce neighborhood rivals in the Southwest Catholic Conference. 'We played against each other all the time in grammar school and now we're on the same team,' Flynn said. 'She does it all out there. She sees the floor really well. 'She's a great passer and she can attack the basket.' Last season, Lily played with her middle sister, Mary Kate, who's now a freshman engineering student at Purdue. Her older sister, Erin, also played at Marist. Lily, however, has come into her own this season. 'I worked a lot over the summer on my game because I knew I wanted to start,' Porter said. 'With my game, I like to drive more than shoot and I'm better now at finishing. 'What really makes me smile is to get those offensive rebounds. That's where I really think I help the team the most — getting the blocks and the offensive rebounds.' And now, Porter has powered her team toward the path of reaching state. 'It has always been my dream to win a state championship and we're one step closer,' Porter said. 'I think at the beginning of the year, my confidence might have been down or uncertain. 'This season has really meant a lot not just to me but my teammates. We've all gotten better.'
Chicago Tribune
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
A year after dropping down from varsity to sophomore team, Olivia Cosme comes through for Marist. ‘I grew so much.'
As a freshman, Olivia Cosme played on the varsity for Marist. Then, as a sophomore, Cosme and coach Renee Chimino had a heart-to-heart talk. Both decided it would be better if the 5-foot-2 guard played for the sophomore team to get in more work. In an era of transferring and finding a new home, it wasn't an easy decision at the time. 'That's tough for a kid, for sure,' Chimino said of the decision. 'But she's such a good kid and a good teammate and loves the people she's playing with. 'Her and I had really good conversations at the time, and she knows why she was down there. She was learning how to be a leader and she was growing her confidence.' Cosme, a junior, is back on varsity and that confidence was on display right away Tuesday for the RedHawks in a 68-31 win over Sandburg in the Class 4A Rich Township Sectional semifinals. Cosme scored 13 points — all in the first half — in leading Marist (25-8) to the romp in Richton Park. Her cousin, Lucy, came up with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Grace Harmon added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Olivia Trunk paced Sandburg (25-9) with nine points, while Monique Nkwogu had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Olivia Cosme set the tone in the first minute. If there were any jitters for Marist, they were gone off the tip as Cosme hit a 3-pointer. On Sandburg's first possession, she grabbed a steal that resulted in a basket. There was more come as the RedHawks ended up with a whopping 10 3-pointers and 19 steals. 'I'm glad I was able to get easy steals and easy shots and we made our way to the sectional championship game,' Cosme said. Speaking of that, Marist will face Lincoln-Way West (23-11) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the sectional final. The Warriors got past conference rival Lockport 49-48 in the other semifinal. Molly Finn scored on a driving layup with two seconds left as Lincoln-Way West prevailed in the thriller. Caroline Smith, who led the way with 18 points, made four free throws in the final 1:41. Finn finished with 13 points despite being held scoreless in the first half. Laura Arstikaitis led Lockport (28-5) with 13 points, including 11 in the first quarter. Lucy Hynes added 12 points. Cosme's spark, meanwhile, created a surprising blowout win over Sandburg. 'She takes control when we're running our offense and calms us down,' Harmon said. 'She's our shooter, obviously. We look to her first for her shooting, but she is also great on defense. 'She's very tenacious.' Cosme comes from a basketball family that includes several cousins, including Cale Cosme, a Brother Rice product who now plays for Lewis. They grew up playing against each other. 'I played against boys when I was in second grade,' she said. 'That definitely helped me because they are definitely more physical and mean. It helped me with some of the players I'm facing now.' Her second go-around with the varsity also has been a success. 'When I was playing with the sophomores, I got a lot of playing time and I grew so much,' she said. 'I'm here as a starter, and that's amazing.' Cosme said the key was a better work ethic. 'I saw myself with a different path,' she said. 'I asked was going to work hard or work really, really hard. I decided to go that route. This was what was best for myself and the team in the future. 'I wasn't really as ready for varsity as I am now. Playing on the sophomores made me the player I am.' Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Originally Published: February 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM CST
