Carmel freshman forward Ada Lindal doesn’t get the attention afforded heralded classmate Liv Johnson.
The 6-foot-2 Johnson is widely considered one of the best players in the state, and the daughter of former Illinois player Lucas Johnson has 11 college offers. The 5-9 Lindal comes off the bench and doesn’t have any starting experience with the Corsairs.
“It’s a lot of pressure to try to be good, but the whole team supports me,” Lindal said. “I want to be just like Liv. I want to be as physical as her and do it all like she does.”
Lindal got her chance during the Class 4A Rockford Guilford Sectional championship game on Thursday and came through for Carmel.
Lindal scored all four of her points and assisted on another basket in the third quarter while Liv Johnson sat on the bench with foul trouble to push the second-seeded Corsairs to a 38-35 win over top-seeded Libertyville, her older sister Elinor’s former team.
Elinor Lindal, a freshman at St. Xavier, was a key player in Libertyville’s run to the sectional championship game last season. A year later, Ada Lindal helped Carmel win it.
“I know all the girls at Libertyville because I did their feeder and everything,” Lindal said. “I still love the girls there. I knew a lot of girls on Carmel and came to visit and loved it.”
Lindal also had seven rebounds and two assists for Carmel (25-9), which will play Rolling Meadows (21-10) in the Dundee-Crown Supersectional at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Johnson finished with eight points and 11 rebounds, and senior forward Maron Bowes had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Junior point guard Lily Fisher, who missed a potential game-tying 3-point shot at the buzzer, had a game-high 22 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots for the Wildcats (27-6).
Libertyville, which also lost a close game to Carmel in the regular-season finale, led 24-21 when Lindal drove to the basket for a layup with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.
A little more than 30 seconds later, Lindal handed the Corsairs the lead for good with a putback off a missed 3-point shot by junior guard Maliyah Mays.
Lindal then grabbed another offensive rebound and dished the ball to Bowes, who scored to give the Corsairs a 27-24 lead.
“I was surprised I just did that and tried to keep it going and going,” Lindal said of her drive. “I was so happy to help us be up by three points. I just tried to get rebounds. I’ve been trying to do it all season and help the team, and I feel I’m finally starting to build up as the season has gone on.”
Lindal entered the game averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.
“This was a big game for Ada,” Carmel coach Ben Berg said. “She didn’t play much the first time we played Libertyville.
“I have the ultimate trust in her. She’s not afraid of the moment. She’s still learning, but she made some plays for us by getting two baskets off offensive rebounds. She fought hard.”
Johnson, who had six points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, said Lindal was the catalyst for the Corsairs’ win.
“She definitely changed the game,” Johnson said. “She stepped up when she needed to today.”
Carmel senior guard Josie Hartman said Lindal is becoming a reliable contributor.
“Ada reminds me of me when I was a freshman,” Hartman said. “Her poise and being able to get by and finish at the rim when the pressure is special, and she takes pressure off me handling the ball. She has grown so much throughout the season.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
