Molly Fisher welcomed the lack of attention Thursday.
A day after Christmas, the Lake Forest junior guard received a gift every sharpshooter desires in games: open space.
Fisher knocked down four of her career-high six 3-pointers in the first quarter to finish with a game-high 18 points to spark Lake Forest to a 47-36 victory over Nazareth in the first round of the 11th annual Montini Christmas Tournament.
The Scouts (11-2) advanced to play Lyons at 3 p.m. Friday.
Fisher’s wide-open three late in the third quarter padded Lake Forest’s lead to 37-16.
“It felt pretty good — haven’t had that feeling in some time,” Fisher said of her shooting. “It was also my teammates. They found me wide open, and the extra passes helped get me the ball. It was a great feeling. I was wide open a lot because of Halle (Douglass).”
Douglass, Lake Forest’s senior point guard, took a rare back seat. The Wisconsin commit had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists against Nazareth (9-3).
“I was very happy for Molly,” Douglass said. “It was awesome to see her shoot like that. She was a rock star.”
Fisher’s development is a key factor for Lake Forest this season, especially come the playoffs. When the 5-foot-5 Fisher can spread defenses out, like she did against 2019 Class 3A runner-up Nazareth, Douglass has more room to find driving and passing lanes.
“Molly really got us going, and when she’s shooting like that, we’re going to really be a tough team to beat,” Lake Forest coach Kyle Wilhelm said.
“It’s a credit to one of the things our team does really well, finding the open shooter. Molly knows where she needs to be on the court. Halle does a good job of finding her. She’s one of the top shooters around, which really makes us a hard team to guard.”
Lake Forest junior forward Finola Summerville halted Nazareth’s late rally with seven points in three-plus minutes to finish with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Wilhelm said he was encouraged by his team’s fast start. The Scouts led 18-6 at the end of the first quarter to make a strong statement in their first appearance at Montini’s prestigious tourney.
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“When you come to this tournament, you know you are going to get a really good team,” Wilhelm said. “You are always a little nervous coming out the day after Christmas, but our kids came out firing right away, really good defensive performances.”
Douglas admitted she’s excited to play and watch some new opponents.
“I know a lot of players on other teams, so it’s fun to see all these good teams going against each other,” Douglass said. “It’s kind of cool for me. I want to win the tournament, get better and learn from this tournament.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.