By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

A mild case of déjà vu struck the Lind-bergh High School girls’ basketball team last Friday.

The Flyers (9-4, 2-1 Suburban West) faced a much-improved Kirkwood squad in December and walked away with a hard-fought 50-46 comeback victory at Kirk-wood. At home last Friday, the Flyers scored 28 points in the second half en-route to a 49-45 victory that resembled the two teams’ December showdown.

Kirkwood held a commanding 19-8 lead after one quarter of play before Lindbergh climbed back in the second quarter to trim the Pioneer’s lead to 24-21.

“They (Kirkwood) came out pretty strong in the first quarter and we fought back little by little,” Lindbergh head coach Bill Thoele told the Call. “I told the girls that we needed to take care of the ball and handle their press. We held our composure and did a good job.”

Lindbergh senior Amy Hake led all scorers with 24 points, five steals and three rebounds. The senior guard has averaged 23.6 points per game in her last five games, above her 19.6 points per game average for the season.

“Amy’s been very consistent and is playing really well,” Thoele said. “She’s really matured as a player and gives 100 percent all the time. She’s really developed into a great player.”

Lindbergh’s Meaghan Endicott added 12 points and five rebounds for the Flyers. The junior center had been struggling, but Thoele is hoping her performance against the Pioneers is a sign of good things to come.

“She (Endicott) has been struggling but has been working really hard in practice,’ Thoele said. “She did a great job in shooting the ball and has gotten her confidence back.”

The Flyers travel to West Plains Friday and Licking Saturday.

Both schools have strong basketball traditions with Licking making it to the state quarterfinals in 2001 and the state sectional in 2002. West Plains won the class 4A state championship in 1998.

“We’re going to make a weekend out of it and the girls are excited about staying the night and doing a little team bonding,” Thoele said. “It’s going to be a different kind of atmosphere because they (West Plains and Licking) take their basketball seriously. The environment is going to be the biggest thing we’ll have to deal with. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Lindbergh’s game at West Plains is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while the Flyers’ game at Licking tips off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.