Lexie Crotty has never missed a high school basketball game due to injury or illness.
Crotty is a senior now. She’s in her fourth year as a varsity starter for the Ridgewood girls basketball team. Crotty played on three different levels as a freshman (freshman, sophomore and varsity) and two as a sophomore (JV and varsity).
Crotty has been a constant on the court for the Rebels — even when she was pulling double and triple duty — but her streak could have come to an end earlier this week. Crotty sprained her right ankle during the first quarter at Riverside-Brookfield on Friday, Jan. 15. Ridgewood coach Amanda Timothy gave Crotty the option to rest against Maine East on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
“Every game counts, especially because I’m a senior,” Crotty said. “[Timothy] was like, ‘You know, you can sit out [against Maine East]. This isn’t a conference game. You don’t have to play.’ I was like, ‘But I want to play. Just put me in.’ “
Crotty played about six or seven minutes against the Blue Demons.
“I’m used to sprained ankles, but never really playing on it this quickly,” Crotty said. “I couldn’t really run, so I wasn’t really doing my team any good.”
Crotty’s ankle was still bothering her on Thursday, Jan. 21, in the Rebels’ 47-36 Metro Suburban East loss to Chicago Christian in Palos Heights. Crotty couldn’t jump off of her right leg, she said after the game. Her ankle also threw off her balance on her jump shot.
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Ridgewood (7-13, 2-5) only scored nine points in the first half against the Knights. Entering the fourth quarter, Crotty had two points — both were on free throws — and she was 0-for-9 from the field.
Her team trailed by 11 when her mentality changed.
“I was like, ‘All right, push through, my ankle’s fine,’ ” Crotty said. “It’s hard because I can’t really go to my left, because I can’t jump off of my right foot still. In the first half, all of my shots were off. … I told myself [heading into the fourth] pretty much all I can do is drive — just try to drive strong [on the] right side. Hope to get fouled. Don’t worry about my ankle.”
That’s what she did.
Crotty scored her first field goal of the game with approximately 6:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. Crotty (13 points, eight rebounds, five steals) drove baseline on Ridgewood’s next possession, drew a foul and scored. She made the free throw, and the Rebels were suddenly down just 31-25.
“It gets the momentum going when one of us scores, especially when she [made] the layup and [made] the free throw,” Rebels junior guard Katherine Rasche said. “That gets us the momentum, and then more girls feel like they’re going to shoot and make their shots.”
Soon after Ridgewood cut its deficit to six, Rebels junior forward Catherine Spanola made an acrobatic save underneath the basket. She batted the ball to Rasche, who caught it, was fouled and scored. Rasche made the free throw for a 3-point play.
Rasche (five points, four rebounds) then drained an eight-foot shot to make the score 31-30. Chicago Christian (5-15, 4-4) called a timeout after Rasche’s second field goal of the fourth. The Knights reversed the game’s momentum after that, and held on to win.
Crotty’s perseverance and value to her team were evident in the fourth quarter, however.
“Everybody looks to her as a leader,” Timothy said. “I know if she’s having a good game, the rest of the girls will follow. She’s a special kid. … They don’t make them like her anymore.”
Game notes
* Ridgewood junior guard Lina Hawari finished with eight points. Senior forward Monica Zygula and junior center Jessica Lipski scored four points apiece.
* Chicago Christian held off Ridgewood largely because of sophomore guard Cheyenne Slager’s free-throw shooting. Slager made 10 free throws in the fourth quarter, including nine out of her last 10 attempts.
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports