Buffalo Grove 75, Round Lake 30
"Thank you Coach Dineen."
More than 20 former Buffalo Grove girls basketball players wore those words on the back of white T-shirts Thursday night to celebrate the career of Hall of Fame coach Tom Dineen, who was honored prior to the game for his ensuing retirement as a teacher in District 214.
The players, one from his first team (Elite Eight) in 1979 and a few from the 2000 state title squad, watched the top-seeded Bison run past No. 7 Round Lake 75-30 in the title game of the Buffalo Grove Class 4A regional.
The Bison (29-3) will face No. 5 Mundelein at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Mundelein sectional.
The Tom Dineen celebration made for an emotional start to the evening and it ended the same way. The Bison won a school-record 40th straight game on their home floor and a 25th regional in 29 seasons under Dineen.
Senior Maggie Mocchi (20 points) broke down in tears when discussing her last home game of a terrific four-year career along with her sister Allison, Ellen Ayoub and Lauren Angotti.
Before the contest, it was Dineen's turn to shed a few tears as he spoke to the big crowd about the support he has received from his wife Chris and three children, including his daughter and former standout guard Jamie, who could not make it in from California.
"I was so sad," Maggie Mocchi said of the pregame ceremonies. "He is an awesome coach. This is our last game on this court. We practice here every day."
"I was getting very teary-eyed," added senior Ellen Ayoub, who scored a game-high 27 points. "I was worried how I would play. It was very overwhelming. It's sad (that it may have been his last home game) when you think about all he has accomplished here. I really enjoyed seeing all the former players and listening to him speaking about them."
The Bison spoke with authority on the floor when they built a 15-2 cushion less than six minutes.
Round Lake (24-6) was led by 6-foot junior post Amber Phillips' 10 points.
"Our kids played awfully hard," said Round Lake coach Gary Edge, whose club tied the single-season school record for wins. "Buffalo Grove has a few more bullets than us. Their press hurt us and we made poor decisions."
For the second time in three nights, Dineen was able to play all 12 girls on his roster.
Heather Nisbet added 14 for the winners while Allison Mocchi, Allison Heissel, Kaitlin Hillner, Stacy Lialios and Kelly Mahoney all scored in BG's final home game.
Just when it looked as if a Round Lake player would swipe the ball from Ayoub near half court in the second half, the senior made a nifty around-the-back dribble and went in for a layup, bringing a loud roar from the crowd.
"These kids are fun to watch," Dineen said. "Our past players all built the program and these current kids have taken it to a whole new level.
These last two nights (won 94-47 on Tuesday over Deerfield) have shown why the people in this community love to come out and watch them play."