Barrington takes care of Schaumburg

The Mid-Suburban West girls basketball division had better take notice of a youthful Barrington team after its performance against Schaumburg on Friday night.

In front of a big home crowd and TV crew on Think Pink/Pack the Gym Night for cancer, the Fillies may have played their best game of the season in beating the Saxons 59-36.

Senior guard Taylor Kosla (14 points, three 3-pointers) put the Saxons early with back-to-back 3s, finishing one with a 4-point play.

This prompted Barrington (11-7, 4-1) coach Babbi Barreiro to call a timeout to settle down her team.

"We came out pumped - this was a big game," Kosla said. "But after that timeout was called, we knew we needed to keep up the intensity, but it didn't happen."

"We were overwhelmed early by the crowd," said forward Emily Harris, one of two seniors on Barrington. "She (Barreiro) said we know how we can play, but we have to focus."

Harris (11 points, 9 rebounds), along with junior Abby Kirchoff, got Barrington back on track.

Kirchoff came up big, not just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as well. Along with a game-high 20 points, she finished with 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

"Abby (Kirchoff) played one of her best games of the year, and (Emily) Harris had a nice night," Barreiro said.

The final result of Friday's game might have been different if Schaumburg (4-14, 1-4) could have gotten some shots to fall.

"Scoring has been an issue all year," said Saxons head coach and former Barrington star Ashley Berggren. "We played on our heels. We needed to attack and make better decisions, but Barrington is a strong team."

Berggren is in her first season as Schaumburg's head coach and it's taking some time for the girls to catch on to her system. She is proud of the effort they showed.

"They're working hard," she said. "I have to give them credit. They kept up the intensity the whole game."

Barreiro has high hopes for her former player and her team.

"Ashley is a great person," she said. "She has her team playing hard and that is a good sign."

The Saxons are going to continue to play hard and are eager to get on the practice floor Saturday morning.

Sophomore Alyssa Saklak (8 points, 8 rebounds) says her team needs to stay positive, not turn the ball over and most importantly work on putting the ball in the basket.

Barrington junior guard-forward Sarah Mass chipped in 14 points in the victory.