Threes please Bison girls

Buffalo Grove coach Tom Dineen says the 3-point shot is a big part of his team's offense.

Anyone at Saturday's championship game of the Bison Classic was able to see exactly what Dineen was talking about.

The nationally-ranked Bison, 16th in USA Today and No. 1 in Class 4A for Illinois, connected for seven 3-pointers in the second half while pulling away for a 49-39 triumph over Maine South.

The Bison (5-0) had eight 3-pointers while Maine South (4-2) connected for seven.

Bison senior Ellen Ayoub (team-high 15 points), who tossed home three 3s in the second half, did not overlook Maine South's superb outside shooting, too.

"They're the best shooting team we've seen this season," she said. "This was exciting, because it was a close game."

"They're a very good team and well-coached," Dineen said of the Hawks. "For us to be able to hold them to 39 points was very good. We got some very good experience in game situations and strategies."

Dineen also stressed how pleased he was with his team's zone defense.

"We've only played it a handful of times this season," he said. "To do it well against a very good team, I'm pleased."

Maine South coach Mark Smith had to be pleased with his team when it took a 16-10 lead early in the second quarter, thanks to Jackie Rieger's driving 6-footer and 5 points from Michelle Tourtillott (driving layup and 3-pointer).

Plus, BG all-stater Maggie Mocchi (7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) was sidelined with 3 fouls. Following a timeout chat from Dineen, the Bison were up to the challenge.

With Lauren Angotti (4 points) coming off the bench to relieve Mocchi, the Bison held their own.

Allison Mocchi (10 points, 7 rebounds) hit a 3-pointer and Angotti tossed in an 8-footer to put the Bison right back into the game.

A layup by Kaitlin Hillner (5 rebounds, 2 assist) gave them a 17-16 lead and the Bison pitched a shutout for the final 5:20 of the half.

"If we were going to panic, that would have been the time," Dineen said. "We're down 6 and Maggie is out with 3 fouls. But we ran off the next 7 points.

"The girls responded very well. I thought Lauren Angotti gave us huge minutes and Heather (Nisbet) hit some huge 3s in the third quarter."

Tourtillott's 8-footer tied the game at 22-22 with 2:40 left in the third. Nisbet and Ayoub followed with back-to-back 3s for a 28-22 lead.

Tourtillott's 3 cut it to 28-25 when Nisbet answered with another 3 for a 31-25 advantage. Maine South would never get closer than 4 points.

With BG ahead 34-25, the next six baskets were all 3s, four by BG. The streak ended when Nisbet converted a layup for a 47-36 lead with 20 seconds left.

"We needed some points in the second half and I just happened to have the hot hand for a while," Nisbet said about scoring all 11 of her points in the final 16 minutes.

"We definitely wanted to limit their 3s," Ayoub added. "We did a pretty good job but we can do better. That's something we'll continue to work on."

Tourtillott, who scored a game-high 18 for the Hawks, felt her team worked Smith's game plan well.

"We had them for a while," she said. "I thought we did a real good job with a new defense we put it and our game plan worked real well. They just hit some big shots, and we couldn't counter.

"We were trying to get to the free-throw line as much as we could. Unfortunately, we only shot four. Coach wanted us to get to the line more, and if we had, that could have made a difference."

Rieger and Karen Solari each added 8 points for South.

"We fought hard," Tourtillott added. "Karen (Solari) was rebounding like crazy. Kelly Kohlndorfer was diving all over the floor. We'll learn from this. It was a good game."

Crystal Lake Central 49, Barrington 44:ΠBarrington sophomore Emily Harris led all scorers with 19 points while freshmen Shelby Whigham (10) and Sarah Mass (6) were next highest.

A bank shot by Harris and a layup by Stephanie Berg gave the Fillies (1-4) a 33-23 lead with 1:08 left in third quarter.

But the Gators (3-2) put together a 17-4 run to take command of the contest.

Harris, a 6-foot center, was named to the all-tourney team.

"I thought Emily had a great tournament," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "And Stephanie Berg worked awfully hard on defense. Our young kids did a really nice job putting the ball in the basket.

"But we were just playing not to lose in the third and fourth quarters. We played so well for 2½ quarters. Then we made a ton of young mistakes in the fourth quarter.

"But this tournament is a like a pre-season for us. We're still learning about each other. I still think we're going to be OK."