Emma O’Brien spent the last three seasons as Nora Ezike’s running mate on highly successful Lyons teams that won a combined 79 games and three regional titles.

But Ezike is gone now, a freshman at Stanford.

It is O’Brien’s team now, and there is nobody Lyons would rather have with the ball in her hands late than the 6-foot senior and Cornell commit. 1 of 12

Lyons Township’s Emma O'Brien (43) drives to the basket between Benet’s Bridget Rifenburg (22) and Ava Thomas (5) during a game on November 18, 2025 at Benet Academy in Lisle. (Jon Cunningham for Shaw Local News Network)

Such was the case in the season opener. O’Brien had two free throws with 4.2 seconds left, down one, after Lyons had trailed by seven with less than two minutes left at Benet.

“Just take some deep breaths,” O’

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