For those who believe that free throws are not an important component of basketball, perhaps they should talk to Bill Thoele, coach of the Lindbergh High School girls’ basketball team.

Thoele watched his Flyers shoot just 42.11 percent — eight of 18 — from the free-throw line last week in a disappointing 62-59 loss at Cor Jesu.

“I think that once we get some confidence at the free-throw line, I think that we’ll start hitting them,” Thoele told the Call. “We played as hard as we’ve played all year. We may not always win, but we always get a good effort out of our girls.”

The Flyers (1-4, 1-0 Suburban West) fell behind 22-19 after one quarter Dec. 12 before tying the game at 35-35 by halftime.

But a 12-7 run in the third quarter was too much to recover from even though Lindbergh outscored Cor Jesu 17-15 in the fourth quarter.

Alicia Ubriaco led the Flyers with 14 points and six rebounds. The freshman guard also recorded one steal and one assist in the loss to Cor Jesu.

“Alicia came out and ran the floor and shot the ball really well,” Thoele said. “She’s probably the best player on the team and is only going to get better.”

Lindbergh’s Brittany Casey also scored in double figures with 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. The sophomore forward added to her solid performance with four steals and one assist.

“Brittany’s so athletic,” Thoele said. “A lot of her points came from about eight to 10 feet from the basket.”

Junior guard Aimee Ubriaco also scored in double figures with 13 points and 10 assists. In addition, she had six steals and three rebounds for the green and gold.

“Aimee does it all for us,” Thoele said. “She’s the leader of the team, and I think she’s one of the top point guards in the area.”

Lindbergh’s back in action today — Dec. 21 — when the Flyers play host to Nerinx Hall in non-conference action.

Nerinx Hall (7-2, 0-1 Metro Women’s Athletic Association) is coming off a 56-34 win at Visitation on Saturday. Nerinx Hall has won seven of its last eight games.

“We won’t match up very well with them,” Thoele said. “We just need to make sure that we block out and really push the ball.”

Lindbergh’s home game against Nerinx Hall is slated for a 7 p.m. start.