Wrap: BG pulls away; Saxons sink New Trier
Leading 27-24 at half and 41-37 after three quarters, No. 1 ranked Buffalo Grove (12-0) pulled away with an 18-2 edge in the final quarter for a 59-39 victory over Marist in Sweet Sixteen contest in Chicago.
"It was much like playing ourselves," said Bison coach Tom Dineen. "They pass well, shoot well and run the floor well."
With Maggie Mocchi (13 points) picking up 3 fouls in the first half, Dineen called upon seniors Katie Lee and Lauren Angotti to help bide time in the third quarter.
"We got great minutes from them," Dineen said. "But Lauren suffered a broken finger and went to Northwest Community Hospital when we got back home. So we'll have to see how that is."
Sophomore Heather Nisbet added 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers.
"I thought Heather probably played her best all-around game of the season," Dineen said. "She played like a senior. She has been playing very well, but I thought this was her best game. She hit some big shots and just did everything well."
Ellen Ayoub (12) and Allison Mocchi (11) also reached double figures for BG, which hosts Rolling Meadows on Friday.
Schaumburg 49, New Trier 44: Schaumburg (11-0) received 15 points from Drewann Pancratz and 14 from Gabrielle Blackwell (7 rebounds) while recording the nonconference win over New Trier (9-5) in Winnetka.
The Saxons trailed 23-22 at half but Taylor Kosla hit a bucket at 2:05 of the third quarter which gave the Saxons the lead for good at 33-32. The Saxons resume play Friday when they host Fremd.
Prospect 48, St. Viator 45: The Knights (9-4) were led by Megan Murray (20 points), Rachel Hunt (8 points, 4 rebounds), Alyssa Glennon (7 assists, 6 steals) and Danielle Brucci (5 steals). The Knights visit Elk Grove on Friday.
Jenny Muench scored 14 points for host St. Viator (3-8) and Colleen Nolan added 7.
Rolling Meadows 36, Larkin 32: Tuesday night's matchup against Larkin was like a new beginning for the Rolling Meadows girls basketball team.
After opening the season 2-0, the Mustangs had dropped eight straight before putting the pieces back together to defeat the Royals 36-29 in a nonconference meeting in Elgin.
Larkin jumped on top early taking a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of play, but the starting five were soon interrupted by foul trouble for Alyssa Burns (4 points) and Laura Kay (4 points, 5 rebounds), which would later become the Royals' downfall.
That, combined with an inability to finish shots as the game progressed enabled Rolling Meadows to pull ahead and stay on top for the win.
"We had to adjust to foul trouble early and I think we did a good job with that, but it is a challenge for me to get us there," said Larkin coach Amy Silverman.
Trailing 6-1, the Mustangs found bench help in guard Alexa Bennett (11 points), who disrupted the Larkin flow with 8 straight points, including two from long distance to put Meadows on top 8-7 late in the first quarter.
Larkin's best opportunity to battle back against a very consistent Meadows offense came in the beginning of the third quarter when the Royals defense forced 5 straight turnovers.
After trailing 23-18 at the half, Larkin (1-9) managed to tie things up at 25-25 behind a 7-2 run while a stern defensive effort held the Mustangs to just 4 points.
"We were never out of it," said Silverman. "Offensively, we looked great in the first quarter. After that, we just could not finish.
"The shots were there, but you don't win games if the ball doesn't go through the basket."
For the Mustangs (3-8), the shots were there as well.
In addition to Bennett's tally, which led all scorers, Jenna Milas added 9 points while Sara Shumaker contributed with 8 points.
The Mustangs also cut Larkin's chances in half on the boards, pulling down 15 second-half rebounds. Shumaker led the way with 9, and Shannon McGuire recorded 6 rebounds of her own.
"We boxed out well as a team," said Rolling Meadows coach Patrick O'Connell. "With our rebounding efforts, we gave ourselves a chance to compete. Shumaker did a great job on the boards as did Shannon.
"It was nice to get a win."
And it was a team win as the Mustangs got 17 points from their bench.
"Quinn (Ryan) and Paulina (Gurbisz) played more minutes in this game than they ever had, and both contributed a great deal to this win," O'Connell said.
With 6 points and 9 rebounds (5 rebounds in the third quarter), Lindsey Casebeer led the way for Larkin. Sophie Sterricker (5 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks), Leah Rybakowski (4 points) and Jessica Harris (4 points) contributed.
--Jen LaPorte
Lake Zurich 54, Barrington 43: Peggy Parhas finished with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor for the Bears (11-2).
The three-year varsity guard, who scored 18 of her points after halftime -- mostly on strong drives to the basket -- says she hasn't been shooting the ball as well as she'd like this season.
"It's been rough," said Parhas, who also had 4 assists and 4 steals. "Today felt good."
Lake Zurich (11-2) needed her big second half after Barrington (3-10) got itself back in the game after spotting the Bears a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Fillies got within 4 on a pair of occasions in the third quarter and trailed by only five when Parhas beat the buzzer with her tough baseline shot.
"We had a great comeback," Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro said. "We don't give up. From that respect, I'm proud of them. And they certainly showed some great flashes."
Samantha Beach led Barrington with a season-high 14 points. The veteran guard missed the Fillies' first several games this season with an ankle injury.
"She's starting to get her timing back," Barreiro said. "She can't quite move as fast as her head wants her to move because of that ankle still, but you can see she's directing traffic out there and showing great leadership out on the floor."
Emily Harris had 9 points and 8 rebounds for Barrington, while Jenny Schnack scored 9 points coming off the bench.