A girl nicknamed “Bellie” helped Lockport’s Evelyn Ingram learn how to play lockdown defense.
Plainfield North’s Isabella Koldoff and Ingram did plenty of battling during practice and one-on-one drills after practice for the Wolverinas AAU team.
“We both worked on staying in front of each other,” Ingram said of Koldoff. “We played in the summer and in the fall. She’s very physical, so she challenges me. And she’s quick.”
That extra work by Ingram, a junior forward, hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Porters.
“One of the biggest changes from last year is her defense has stepped up,” Lockport coach Darien Jacobs said of Ingram. “She has been strong off ball and on ball.”
Ingram came through with another strong performance Wednesday night.
Not only did she chalk up seven rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot on the defensive end, Ingram led Lockport with 14 points in a 55-38 win over the host Spartans in the final game of pool play at the Oak Lawn Holiday Tournament.
Carroll recruit Laura Arstikaitis scored 13 points for the Porters (9-4), while Katie Peetz added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sophie Hynes had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Oak Lawn (5-5) was paced by Bianca Fleitas with 15 points. Kenadie Haubenreiser added 10.
Lockport moves on to face Lincoln-Way East (6-5) in the third-place game of the tournament, while Marist (11-1) meets up with Providence (10-1) for the title. Both games are at noon Saturday.
Ingram’s defensive improvement, meanwhile, has helped complement an offensive game that features a variety of skills. Her role was different last season as a sophomore, but she’s taking charge on offense this winter.
“Our makeup last year was a little different,” Jacobs said. “Alaina Peetz would get the ball on the inside and Lucy Hynes would drive in a big situation.
“Without those two this year, Evelyn has been able to face the basket more and attack. That’s why she’s standing out a little bit more. She can hit the threes and finish at the rim.”
Leading the team in scoring has become a habit so far for Ingram.
Ingram opened up on the right note with a 17-point performance in a 50-27 win over Morris in the WJOL Tournament. She followed that up with 18 points in the next game, a 65-38 nonconference win over Wheaton North.
She erupted for 11 points in the first quarter of a 67-32 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais and then put up 20-point efforts against both Lincoln-Way East and Sandburg.
Ingram, Arstikaitis and Peetz each made back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter Wednesday to give Lockport some breathing room with a 22-12 lead.
Although the Porters went from a 12-win season in 2023-24 to one of its best seasons in program history at 28-5, they would like to keep that success going.
“We’re hoping to win conference — we should,” Arstikaitis said. “Recently, we have a few close games and some losses. We’re working on perfecting our defense.
“We need to stop teams from scoring. That was our main thing we did last year.”
The 5-foot-10 Ingram pointed out that she started playing basketball in first grade.
“I was around the game right away and I grew to love it,” she said. “I definitely had to develop. I was a lot younger than the girls I was playing with. I had to work to get to the point they were at.”
But now, she’s at a point that impresses her teammates.
“She can hit a three or drive for an and-one,” Arstikaitis said. “She brings in some aggression and everybody ends up piling in on her, which mean the shooters are open.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.