Fillies beat Cougars
Barrington was extremely wary of visiting Conant on Friday night.
“They can play,” said Fillies 5-foot-11 senior forward Shelby Whigham. “They beat Hersey earlier in the year, so we knew they were a good team. We came out with a lot of energy tonight and told ourselves ‘let’s go, let’s go we can do this.”
Whigham helped set the tone with 3 early blocks, and junior Nicole Collins scored a team-high 9 points as the Fillies ran out to a quick double-digit lead and never looked back in a 46-26 Mid-Suburban West girls basketball victory.
Balanced scoring was a key for the Fillies as senior Sarah Mass tallied 8 points, Abby Kirchoff had 7 and Sam Maasarani scored 6.
“We were extremely focused tonight, even more focused than usual,” Mass said. “We put in a full week of practice this week, so that played a part in it.
“We just jelled in the first couple of minutes and got up on them.”
Indeed, the Fillies got off to a fast start and led 11-2 after only two minutes, and they extended the advantage to 30-13 at halftime.
The Fillies (7-4, 2-1) put the game on ice in the third quarter as they scored the first 8 points to take a 25-point lead.
Alyssa Rawleigh scored a game-high 13 points for Conant, including a pair of 3-pointers, but the Cougars (8-4, 1-2) as a team were only 2-for-11 from behind the arc.
Whigham scored 4 points to go along with her superb interior defense, while Barrington senior forward Brooke Chandor had 4 points and 4 rebounds.
“Conant’s had a nice start to the season,” said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. “You know when you play the Cougars it’s going to be an intense game, because they’re always tough on ‘D.’ ”
“I thought we responded and did a nice job on defense as well. We got into the passing lanes and got a lot of touches.”
Prospect 52, Wheeling 42: Prospect improved 6-5 and 2-1 in the MSL East as junior Christina Brucci led he Knights with 10 points, including a 3-pointer in the first and fourth quarters.
The visiting Knights rallied from a 17-9 first-quarter deficit to trail 21-19 at the break. They outscored the host Wildcats 17-9 in the third quarter when senior guard Sarah Winans scored all 7 of her points.
“At halftime, we talked to Sarah about attacking the basket,” said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. “She stepped up in that third quarter and that’s what senior leaders do. I was very proud of her.”
Adriane Falagario and Michele Molini added 7 points while Marissa Pettenuzzo and Sarah Hunt each had 6 for the Knights.
Our subs (Falagario, Molini and Jessica Petrovski) did a great job off the bench,” Kelly added.
Junior Kellie Kuzmanic led Wheeling (2-9, 1-2) with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Kayla Jordan (5 rebounds) and Leah Malsom (7 rebounds) each added 9 points for the Wildcats.
Fremd 53, Palatine 37: Fremd (10-2, 3-0) gained sole possession of first place in the MSL West as junior Jessie Wiedemann scored a game-high 18 points with 3 3-pointers.
Senior Jaimie Groot added 11 for the winners and sophomore Ashley McConnell chipped in 8.
Palatine (3-7, 0-3) was led by sophomores Nia Pappas (9 points) and McKenzie Wiedemann (7).
Buffalo Grove 57, Elk Grove 47 (OT): Buffalo Grove senior guard Emily Cho hit 2 free throws with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
The host Bison then used the momentum to outscore the visiting Grens 10-2 in the extra session to notch their first win in the MSL East.
Senior guard KC Dunne scored a game-high 18 points for BG (2-8, 1-2), followed by Andrea DiPrima (11), Alanna Zawlocki (9) and Emily Georgoulis (8).
Sophomore Diamond Boyd led the Grens (7-6, 0-3) with 14 points.
Senior guards Maggie Fries and Michelle Calmeyn each added 10.
Maine West 48, Niles North 44 (OT): Freshman Brittany Collins (17 points) and junior Amanda Hoye (12) led the visiting Warriors (3-10, 3-1) in the Central Suburban North.
Megan John chipped in 10 points, including a 3-pointer in the contest for Maine West.