Basketball Recap: Grace Bush Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Maine East

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Lane Tech walked away with it. They enjoyed a cozy 67-51 win over the Maine East Blue Demons on Tuesday. Given the Champions' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 92nd, while the Blue Demons are ranked 362nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Grace Bush

Blocked Shots (Career)

02/18/25 vs Maine East	3
12/04/24 @ Amundsen	2
01/09/24 @ Payton College Prep	2
12/09/23 @ New Trier	2
02/12/25 @ Whitney Young	1

Lane Tech's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Grace Bush led the charge by dropping a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Bush a new career-high in blocks (three). Cynthia Waller was another key player, going 6-for-8 to rack up 14 points and seven boards.

Lane Tech smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matches.

Despite the defeat, Maine East saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Arabella Silva went 7-for-12 from beyond the arc on her way to 33 points and six rebounds. That was a full 64.7% of Maine East's points, marking the 31st time in a row Silva has posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Heidi Cortez, who earned eight points and six boards.

Lane Tech has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points over those games. This is the second loss in a row for Maine East and nudges their season record down to 14-17.

Lane Tech didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 52-47 loss against Glenbrook North on the 20th. Maine East does not have any more games scheduled as of now.