BLOOMINGTON — In her first season at Homewood-Flossmoor, junior forward Ziko Okolo needed some time to get used to her new team’s way of doing things.
The practices were tougher. H-F coach Tony Smith was intense. And Okolo had to make some changes after transferring from Rich Township.
“It was a little bit of a struggle adjusting,” Okolo said. “I felt like he was trying to push me to a level I haven’t been at before. After I got the rhythm of things, I found it helped me.
“It definitely made me a better player.”
Okolo demonstrated her growth in the biggest game of the season Monday night.
Battling foul trouble, she scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, but H-F lost 54-47 to Belleville East in the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional at the Shirk Center.
Aunyai Deere, the lone senior starter, also scored 14 points to go with seven rebounds for H-F (24-10). Laila Williams finished with 11 points, while Katelyn Jones chipped in with six assists.
“I’m really proud of us,” Deere said. “Last year, we weren’t able to do the things that we did this year. I was happy that we were able to step up and play together.
“I appreciated playing with these girls this year.”
Hailey Gray scored 17 points and Ramiyah Young finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Belleville East (28-5), which advanced to state for the first time since the 2000-01 season and clinched the program’s first state trophy.
It didn’t come easy, especially with Okolo dominating inside early. She scored 10 points in the first half.
“My coaching staff and my teammates, they all supported me through this,” Okolo said. “They all made sure I was prepared to step onto this stage.”
Even when that preparation wasn’t easy.
“It was good just to see her grow and start taking the game a little bit more seriously,” Smith said of Okolo. “She came over and she thought we were a little too intense. She wasn’t used to that.
“Just to see her be able to be coachable and get used to my style, it was great. I think she has a bright future here.”
Okolo was super efficient, making 7 of 8 shots. But going into next season, she’s already thinking about all of the ways she can improve.
“I definitely have a long ways to go with my finishing, with talking to my teammates on the court,” Okolo said. “My overall offensive and defensive presence just needs a little bit of work.”
Okolo’s presence on the court proved vital as the Vikings struggled when she headed to the bench with foul trouble. Belleville East closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 31-24 lead.
Deere was proud of Okolo for stepping up.
“Ziko gave us a boost with being able to rebound,” Deere said. “She’s tough down there, she’s able to finish. She showed up for us (Monday).”
H-F trailed 43-34 entering the fourth but pulled within 51-47 in the final two minutes. That was as close as the Vikings could get as their struggles at the free-throw-line — where they ended up shooting 5 of 17 — proved costly.
“They’re a pretty good team,” Deere said of Belleville East. “But the fact that we didn’t give up and kept fighting, that’s why I love this team.”
Deere and Ihuoma Ozoh were the only seniors on the roster for H-F, which won its second sectional title in three seasons.
Okolo believes even bigger things are ahead.
“Now we’ve seen all the competition and know what we need to do to push it further and to punch our ticket on to state,” Okolo said. “I feel like we’ve got it next year.
“We’re going to come back harder. We’re going to work on our craft and just stay in the lab.”
