Barrington's focus pays off against Mundelein
The goal for Barrington's girls basketball team on Monday night centered around defense.
"We wanted to contain them (No. 15-seeded Mundelein) to 33 points or less," said Fillies senior Cecilia Stack. "And that was in our heads from the start of the game."
The No. 18 seeded fulfilled that goal at the end of their own Class 4A regional play-in game.
Offensively, it was a field goal by Maggie O'Donnell which proved to be the difference.
With her team trailing 29-28, the senior guard swiped the ball at half court.
She proceeded all the way to the basket and hit an 8-foot fadeaway jumper with 1:05 left to make it 30-29, which stood up as the final score.
The Fillies' defense took care of the rest, forcing a turnover on one of Mustangs' final possessions in the final minute and then playing tough on Mundelein's final possession following a timeout with 29 seconds left.
The Fillies never let the Mustangs get off a shot until a desperate 3-pointer just before the buzzer fell short and was caught by Stack under the basket as time expired.
"Halftime was an eye-opener for us because we didn't want our season to end," said Stack, who finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds. "It had been a rough season to this point and we just prepared ourselves to finish strong this game."
The Fillies (5-21) move on to Wednesday's 6 p.m. semifinals to face No. 2 seed Fremd (23-6).
Mundelein freshman Morgan Frank did her best to keep the Mustangs alive in the fourth quarter, converting 2 of her steals into layups and then hitting 2 free throws which gave her team the 29-28 lead with 1:48 left.
Frank led Mundelein (12-18) with 8 points followed by senior Sarah Oiumet (7) and classmate Kendall Wald (5), who had the game's only 3-pointer which helped the Mustangs rally from a 14-4 deficit in the first quarter.
"Coming back from that deficit just showed the guts and toughness of our team," said Mundelein coach Martin Pazanin. "We didn't play our best game but I thought Barrington prepared well for us.
"We made big strides this season. We doubled our overall wins and quadrupled our conference wins. The girls have nothing to hang their heads about. They played their hearts out. We just came up a little short."
Barrington, which went on a 12-0 run after trailing 4-2, also received 10 points from freshman Taylor Thompson along 6 rebounds.
Sophomore Tori Meyer chipped in 6 points and 4 steals while senior Claire Collier (5 rebounds, 3 steals) also had a key 12-footer during the Fillies' 12-0 run. Junior Rachel Mori handed out 4 assists.
"The kids believed in each other," said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. "Mundelein gained some momentum late in the third quarter and early in the fourth but our kids pulled together and had some key baskets at key times along with key defensive stops."
A bank shot by Thompson gave Barrington its biggest lead of the second half at 16-9 early in the third quarter but Mundelein charged back and went ahead 25-22 on Frank's first steal and layup with 4:27 left in the game.
"She's a talented player for sure," Pazanin of the 5-foot-11 guard. "She's special."
A 14-foot turnaround jumper by Thompson and a 16-footer from the baseline by Meyer pushed the Fillies back in front 26-25 and the teams traded baskets the rest of the way.
"I thought Stack had a real nice game," Barreiro said. "She played well at both ends of the floor. She had something in third quarter which helped us weather their momentum.
"It was a big team win. I felt everyone on the floor contributed in one way or another."