Another late Prospect rally

It's become the "Late Knight Show" for the Prospect girls basketball team.

For the third consecutive time, the Knights came from behind in the final minutes to win a Mid-Suburban East game.

This time, the Knights were down to defending champions Hersey by 10 points with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.

They got the lead for good at 41-39 when freshman Taylor Will made 2 free throws with 31.2 seconds left.

Junior Michele Molini added 2 free throws with 7.8 seconds left to give the host Knights a 43-39 triumph at the Jean Walker Field House.

"I'm trying to come up with a nickname for these girls," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly, whose club (9-4, 3-0) remained tied for first in the East with Rolling Meadows. "I don't know what it could be Cardiac Kids? Miracle Workers?

"I haven't had this much fun coaching in a long time. I know it's easy to say when you're winning. But what's great about these kids is that they keep playing to the buzzer. And the best thing is they do it as a team."

Hersey (4-6, 1-2) was doing everything right early in the second quarter, jumping ahead 22-12 with a 10-run that included 4 free throws by Corinne Busby and 6 points from Jen Hall, including a 3-point play. Maggie Hogen had a key steal to start the rally.

Prospect got to within 24-17 by half but still trailed 32-22 after three quarters.

Hall finished with a game-high 17 points.

"Even though we were up 10, we never felt comfortable with the lead," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley, whose team hosts Glenbrook South today. "We had a hard time handling the ball and we had a lot of unforced turnovers and they took advantage.

"Usually we are a good free-throw shooting team but not this game (10-for-20) and that made a big difference."

The Knights started out with a 7-0 run in the final period, getting a big steal and layup by senior guard Christina Brucci to make it 32-28.

Hogen's scoop shot gave Hersey a 34-29 lead with 5:01 left. Prospect got its first lead at 37-36 when Will grabbed a rebound and tossed in a 6-footer.

Hogen made a nice bounce pass near the basket for Renee Poulos to score a layup. That gave Hersey a 38-37 advantage and moments later Hall added a free throw for a 39-37 lead with 1:03 left.

Molini's 2 free throws tied the game at 39. The junior guard then made a crucial steal at half-court. That set up the 2 big free throws by Will, who took a nice pass from Brucci before getting fouled.

Maura Benson, a longtime teammate of Brucci dating back to their days at St. Raymond in Mt. Prospect, led the Knights with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.

Molini was 6-of-6 at the line and hit a 3-pointer to finish with 9 points while Brucci added 8.

Junior guard Adriane Falagario also had a 3-pointer for Prospect, which recovered from a 7-point deficit in the final three minutes to top Elk Grove and rallied in the final minute against Wheeling to win in overtime.

"I don't know why this is happening but we've got to stop it," said Benson. whose sister Trish also played a key role with 4 rebounds. "People just seem to step up for us. We were all talking about how we have to start playing the first three quarters like the fourth quarter.

"I guess we are a fourth-quarter team but we need to bring that earlier in the game."

Hall's 17 points equaled her second-best scoring game of the season.

"I've got to give Hersey credit," Kelly said. "I thought Maggie Hogen did a real good job on the boards, and Jen Hall is a real good scorer."

Hall made a beautiful fake and then hit an open 3-pointer from the corner to give Hersey a 28-22 lead during its big 10-0 run to start the second half.

"I thought that 3 could have been the dagger," Kelly said. "But our girls kept fighting."

And the fourth-quarter fighters did it again.