Every senior night is special regardless of the team, but in the case of Oswego East’s Aubrey Lamberti, it was something she realized was going to hold a little extra meaning.
The 5-foot-9 senior forward recently became the all-time leading scorer in school history, and Thursday night against Yorkville would be her last home game.
A four-year varsity journey led Lamberti to this point.
“It went by so fast,” she said. “It was just so exciting, feeling the love and the support from teammates and fans. It was really fun.”
Lamberti was her usual gutsy self, scoring 10 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals to help the host Wolves escape with a 45-37 Southwest Prairie West win over Yorkville.
Senior point guard Desiree Merritt, who sits third all-time in scoring for the Wolves, ended up leading all scorers with 14 points for Oswego East (14-10, 9-4).
Sydney McCabe paced Yorkville (11-13, 4-7) with eight points. Hayden Hodges and Ashlyn Peterson added seven points apiece for the Foxes, who finished the game with only six active players due to injuries.
Oswego East coach Abe Carretto has been on board for all four of Lamberti’s seasons. That made seeing her get some recognition even more special.
“It’s nice to see when you’ve witnessed it these four years,” Carretto said.
Carretto also understood the importance of recognizing how Lamberti picked up the majority of those record-setting points.
“She’s always running the point on the press,” Carretto said. “She logs a lot of miles. She got a lot of her points running the floor and rebounding well and then going to the free-throw line.
“She’s really worked for it. Her outside game got better. She helped herself in that regard. She really embraced getting inside more and getting buckets to keep her average up.”
It’s what made the basket that secured the record so special to Lamberti.
On Jan. 16, in a thrilling 71-67 win over Minooka, Lamberti scored the record-setting basket on a rebound putback off Merritt’s miss. Lamberti later hit the game-clinching free throws.
“It was a rebound and left-handed layup, that’s all it was,” she said. “I think it was pretty appropriate.”
After surpassing 1,000 career points as a junior, she knew the record was a possibility. She just didn’t know when it would happen.
“I didn’t try to pay attention to it too much,” Lamberti said. “I knew it was somewhat close but I didn’t know how far away it was. It means a lot and I was really excited.
“I was kind of in shock because I didn’t know it was happening. You feel the love and the support. It was such a good feeling.”
Lamberti breaking the previous record of 1,304 points that was set by Christine Corpuz was a welcomed sight for Carretto. Lamberti is the leading scorer — boy or girl — in school history.
“It’s nice to see somebody break another record,” Carretto said. “That’s what they’re there for, not to just stand still forever. I hope those things continue to happen.”
Oswego East needed all of Lamberti’s efforts to fend off feisty Yorkville.
The Foxes lost by 39 points to the Wolves the last time they played. They were also down to seven players and lost Aubrey Spychalski to injury four minutes into the game.
Still, the Foxes cut the deficit to 37-33 in the fourth quarter.
“They have so much heart,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “You hate to see kids go down, you really do, and we’re at four (injuries) right now. It’s interesting what it brings out of the kids.
“They realize, ‘I don’t have a choice. I have to play.’”
Lamberti, meanwhile, is close to a college decision, where she hopes to become an optometrist someday. Maybe then she’ll reflect more on the legacy she left behind at Oswego East.
“It’s something that I’m super proud of,” Lamberti said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
