Emerson, BG rise to the occasion against Conant
Even Kate Emerson was surprised at how well things went in Thursday's girls water polo sectional quarterfinal contest against Conant.
Normally not the focal point of Buffalo Grove's offense, Emerson was that and more at Barrington as the No. 4-seeded Bison earned a 12-6 victory. Buffalo Grove (15-14) meets top seed Fremd (28-1) in Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal.
Emerson plays the hole position on offense, and her value in this game was immediately evident. BG's Sara Fasching won the opening swim-off, quickly passed back to Nicky Delany, and she dumped the ball into Emerson in front of Conant's goal for a quick, efficient goal.
From that point forward, Conant tried to double-team Emerson, and did so with some success as BG led 2-1 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, though, Emerson and BG started to take over. After Conant standout Hannah Duke tied it at 2-2, Emerson scored on consecutive possessions, the second time on a backhand.
"We've been working a lot on that," said BG coach Shayna Mortensen. "Kate's left-handed, which kind of helps in front of the goal. And we've been working on when to use that backhand. She made some great choices today."
"All of my teammates really did a great job of running the offense, finding ways to get the ball in to me," said Emerson, who had 3 of her 6 goals in the second quarter as BG spurted ahead to an 8-2 lead.
When Emerson wasn't scoring, Angela Rodriguez (3 goals) was putting pressure on Conant's perimeter defenders. Delany provided stellar defense and a settling effect on offense as BG looked for entry passes to Emerson. Roni Rebish gave the Bison a spark with consecutive steals in the third quarter - the first ended a Conant man-up possession, and the second led to a fastbreak goal by Rebish.
"I'd have to say that's probably our best game of the year," said Mortensen. "We're peaking at the right time."
Conant (16-13) struggled to consistently generate quality shots on goal, but that had a lot to do with BG's swimming ability.
"Somewhere in the second quarter, (BG) started to get into a rhythm, and we really had a hard time getting anything started offensively," said Conant coach Justin Bickus. "To me it looked like we only started to loosen up in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late."
Fremd 17, Palatine 4: Erika Lauraitis had 11 goals and Megan Kennedy supplied 4 to help the Vikings past the Pirates (2-21) and into Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal against BG.
Schaumburg 17, Rolling Meadows 4: The second-seeded Saxons (18-7) rolled past Rolling Meadows and into Friday's 8:15 p.m. championship game. No. 7 seed Meadows finishes its season with a 5-17 record.
Barrington 17, Hoffman Estates 5: Erika Elliott produced 7 goals as the third-seeded Fillies (16-7) rolled into Friday's semifinal round against Schaumburg. The Hawks finished their season 6-19.
Glenbrook South sectionalLoyola 22, Maine West 6: The top-seeded Ramblers handled the Warriors (3-13) to earn a spot in Friday's semifinals against Prospect.Prospect 9, Glenbrook North 3: The No. 4-seeded Knights (18-7) had no trouble eliminating the Spartans (13-12) and will face Loyola (22-10) in Friday's semifinals.(2) New Trier (21-9) vs. (7) St. Viator (9-17): The Trevians advanced to an 8:15 p.m. Friday semifinal against Evanston St. Viator concluded its season with a 9-18 record.Vernon Hills sectionalHersey 7, Deerfield 5: The fourth-seeded Huskies (20-6) pulled out a victory over the fifth-seeded Warriors (17-13) as Meg Nolan scored four times. Hersey will face top seed Mundelein, a 20-2 winner against Vernon Hills, at 7 p.m. Friday.Wheeling 13, Libertyville 3: The third-seeded Wildcats (19-6) had no trouble advancing past Libertyville (5-15) and will face No. 2 Stevenson (18-13), a 10-3 winner against Highland Park, in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Friday.