Maasarani, Barrington shoot past Palatine
Visiting Palatine had an answer for everything Barrington ran its way in the first half.
The second half was a decidely different story.
The host Fillies, sparked by the sharpshooting of junior guard Sam Maasarani, broke open a close game with torrid second-half shooting enroute to a 43-30 Mid-Suburban West win.
Barrington led only 19-18 at halftime but a 19-point third-quarter explosion led the way to victory.
"We were in a slump in the first half," said Maasarani of the Fillies' 1-for-10 shooting from 3-point range in the first 16 minutes. "It was a different story in the second half. We focused on ball fakes to shift everyone around, and get everyone open for good looks - then we knocked down the shots."
Nia Pappas had a game-high 12 points for the Pirates.
"We came out strong in the first half, and played like we know how to play," said Pappas. "In the second half we just didn't play our game."
Sarah Mass ignited the Barrington barrage with a steal and layup early in the third quarter, then a 3 from junior guard Abby Kirchoff extended the lead.
But it was Maasarani who put the icing on the cake, nailing two long 3-pointers in the final moments of the third period to put the Fillies up by double digits.
"She (Maasarani) hit some big shots," said Palatine coach Leslie Schock.
"Barrington is a multi-faceted team - they've got a good inside game, and they've got some good shooters. We decided that we were going to take away their inside game and make them beat us from the outside, and it worked in the first half."
The Fillies defensive effort kicked into high gear in the fourth quarter. Barrington held the Pirates scoreless for the first 31/2 of the period while opening up a 17-point lead.
Junior forward Katie Scovic scored 7 points and had 5 steals for the Pirates, while Katie Nawrot scored 5 points and Katelyn Mayer pitched in with 4 points.
5-foot-11 junior forward Shelby Whigham scored 10 points for the Fillies, while 6-1 senior forward Emily Harris had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
KIrchoff, who scored 8 points and led the way on the boards with 8 rebounds, said the Fillies took the court with a different mindset after the halftime break.
"We came out hyped up," said Kirchoff. "We knew we could play better than we had been playing."
Sophomore guard Nicole Collins scored 6 points for Barrington and had several nice assists, while Brooke Chandor contributed 4 points for the winners.