Jesinde Thomas has always had the green light.
While reluctant to hunt for her own shot, Oswego East’s third-year point guard had been content to contribute in other ways.
Not anymore.
Her three early 3-pointers Thursday fueled the Wolves’ fast start, and they ran away with a 75-25 win over Sycamore in the semifinals of the Oswego East Holiday Classic.
Thomas, who scored 11 points — all in the first quarter — to go with five rebounds and five steals, said there’s a practical reason why she’s not hesitant to let it rip these days.
“I think I’ve just become more comfortable with my shot,” said Thomas, a 5-foot-5 senior. “It’s not really any adjustments, just repetition. I’ve been practicing a lot.”
Oswego East’s collective willingness to shoot was a big difference from its loss to Sycamore (8-4) in last year’s tournament.
The Wolves hit 10 3-pointers while going 5-for-8 in the first quarter alone. Freshman Christine Corpuz knocked down two 3-pointers during a decisive 23-0 run spanning the first and second quarters.
The Wolves (12-2) will be looking to win their tournament for the first time Friday when they play Edwardsville in the championship game.
“They baited us to shoot last year and we didn’t,” Oswego East coach Abe Carretto said. “We have good shooters, we better start letting it go.”
Indiana State recruit Ty Battle, who had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, didn’t need to be reminded about last year’s second-round loss to Sycamore.
“It’s been talked about a lot,” Battle said. “We wanted revenge bad. We wanted to score a lot of points.”
Thomas wasted no time getting to work doing just that.
She hit a 3-pointer six seconds into the game, and took a charge on Sycamore’s first possession. Battle kicked out to Thomas for another 3-pointer. Then Thomas swished a wide-open look from beyond the arc before the game was three minutes old.
She wasn’t done. Thomas stole the ball in Sycamore’s backcourt and absorbed contact while dropping in a layup for a 22-5 lead. She also helped key a swarming Wolves’ defense that forced 13 first-half turnovers.
Carretto is used to that contribution.
“That’s who Jesinde’s been the last three years,” Carretto said. “She’s just more noticeable now because she’s putting the ball in the hoop and being more aggressive with her shooting. I think she selects her shots and thinks about them more than she needs to, but she wasn’t hesitating.”
Corpuz added 10 points and Maya Johns had nine for the Wolves, who get a considerable step up in competition next.
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Edwardsville (12-0), ranked third in Class 4A by the Associated Press, returned four starters and added two transfers from a team that lost by two to Benet in last year’s supersectional.
SIU recruits Makenzie Silvey and Criste’on Waters lead the Tigers, who, like Oswego East, breezed through the first three games of the tournament.
“It will be a good challenge,” Battle said, “but I think we’re up for it.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.