Palatine 37, Libertyville 29

It took three bonus rounds and 30 extra shots for Palatine senior Sarah Iuorio to advance past teammate Joslin Loyd on Monday in the opening round of the IHSA 3-point contest.

When Iuorio walked off the court, coach Ron Theberge was there with a message.

"I told her to save some for the game," he said.

She did, and that's why she has more than a shooting contest to look forward to.

Iuorio hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was 3-of-4 from the line to help Palatine to a 37-29 victory over Libertyville in a regional quarterfinal at Warren. The Pirates will play Warren at 6 p.m. today.

Iuorio finished with three 3-pointers and scored 9 of her team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter.

"I told the team this wasn't going to be our last game," she said. "We played hard and were aggressive."

The execution was inconsistent (42 total turnovers), but not the effort. Palatine (10-21), the No. 9 seed, and No. 14 Libertyville (13-17) battled throughout. The best evidence was a long scramble for the ball in the fourth quarter where just about every player was on the floor.

"We talked about how Libertyville is physical and plays hard," Theberge said. "We were very aggressive."

Libertyville led 8-0 and did not allow a field goal until Iuorio hit a 3-pointer with about 12 seconds left in the first quarter. Junior Casey Hopper scored 8 of her game-high 13 points in the opening quarter.

Palatine limited Libertyville to two baskets in the second quarter and led 16-14 at halftime. The margin was still at 2 points after three quarters, but the Pirates pulled away by holding Libertyville to one 3-pointer over the final 4:25.

Palatine junior Katelyn MacFabe had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

-- Bob Gosman

Stevenson 62, Barrington 47: Stevenson's girls basketball team remembered a 45-39 loss to Barrington in December.

"Our defense wasn't as aggressive then and we knew we had to pressure the ball, create turnovers and score off them this time," said Patriots junior guard Kayla Fisher.

The No. 13-seeded Patriots (12-19) succeeded in those areas Monday night in the play-in game of their own regional and came away with a 62-47 triumph over the No. 20 Fillies (5-25).

Barrington was led by senior Samantha Beach's 14 points while Anna Kirchoff added 11.

Even though the Patriots built a 22-6 lead midway through the second quarter and led 40-22 with 2:55 left in the third quarter, the Fillies kept things interesting.

They battled to within 54-45 with 2:38 left in the game on a bucket by Kirchoff.

Sarah Reindl's second of two 3-pointers helped get the Fillies rolling late in third quarter.

"In the second half, we let Beach take control," said Stevenson coach Trish Betthauser. "She had a lot of good drives to the baskets."

"Samantha had to play out of positions for us this season," Barreiro said. "And she is such a team player, she never thought twice about it."

Michal Jane Maropis, Sarah Mass and Emily Harris each contributed with free throws for the Fillies while Jennifer Schnack (6 points and Kelly Pickering (2) hit field goals.

"These girls have never quit all season and that was the case again," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "We dug ourselves a hole but the kids never stopped playing hard."

Barrington suffered some setbacks with injuries during the season, including the loss of leading scorer, freshman Shelby Whigham (knee).

"When you had the kind of season we had, the kids could have started getting on each other and things like that, but it never happened," Barreiro added. "They just kept playing hard. They're going to remember the relationships they had with each other and that's what high school is all about.

"We were awfully young. We'll be back next season. The fact that we never quit this season was a great testament to our senior leadership (Beach, Lianne Davis, Pickering and Maropis). These kids played with such heart and never gave up."

Highland Park 39, Rolling Meadows 32:ΠEven though it trailed 24-12 after three quarters, No. 21 seed Rolling Meadows (6-23) still got on track with its offense and put a scare into No. 12-seeded Highland Park (16-12) in the second play-in game at Stevenson.

Two 3-pointers by senior Alexa Bennett (8 points) before she had to leave the game in the final minute with an ankle injury and one by classmate Shannon McGuire (11 points) helped spark the 20-point final quarter.

Bennett finished as one of the area's top 3-point shooters with 48 for the season.

Her second long-distance bucket Monday pulled the Mustangs to within 36-26 with 1:45 left in the game.

Moments later, a driving layup by senior Liezl Aluquin (6 points) and a steal and bank shot by junior Maddy Urban closed the deficit to 37-30, the closest Meadows would get.

"That's the kind of season we've had," said Mustangs coach Patrick O'Connell. "I thought we put a lot of effort into running the offense, even getting some good high-percentage shots early, but we just couldn't get the ball in the basket."

O'Connell, who underwent throat surgery early in the season, said his voice is still not back to normal.

Assistant Elizabeth Robinson took over most of the speaking assignments to the players this season.

"I'm hoping everything will go well (with his voice improving)," he said. "But if not, I might step down. I've got to keep teaching and support my family.

"I was planning to step down in a few years anyway to be able to do things with my children, so maybe it will just happen sooner. A couple more years of coaching would be nice, though, if the voice allows it."

-- John Leusch