Meadows topples Elk Grove
Practice makes perfect.
And the Rolling Meadows girls basketball team is still perfect in the Mid-Suburban East.
Sophomores Jackie Kemph (20 points) and Jenny Vliet (17) led the Mustangs in a 54-34 victory at Elk Grove on Friday night.
"We had a great focused week of practice," said Mustangs coach Todd Hatfield, whose team (9-3) remained tied for first in the East with Prospect at 3-0. "Ryan (Kirkorsky, Elk Grove coach) does a phenomenal job.
"I challenged our girls to play all 32 minutes because if you don't do that against Elk Grove, they will beat you."
Sophomore Alexis Glasgow added 9 points for Meadows while senior Anne Marie Lynch chipped in 6.
The Grens (6-4, 1-2) were led by junior Diamond Boyd's 14 points.
"Our girls showed up ready to play," said Hatfield, whose team held the Grens scoreless for a nine-minute stretch in the first half. "And we put together our best defensive effort of the season."
Schaumburg 40, Barrington 39 (OT): Senior Alyssa Saklak's free throw with six seconds left was the difference as visiting Schaumburg improved to 4-6 and 2-1 in the MSL West.
Junior guard Amanda Kelly had the other 3 point for Schaumburg in the extra session while Barrington (5-6, 1-2) got a basket from senior Abby Taplett and a free throw from junior Maddie Bartz.
"We didn't play fundamentally sound basketball until the fourth quarter," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "Our defense wasn't that good in the first half. We didn't box out. A lot of time we haven't stepped up until the second half and we have to address that."
The Saxons were led by Saklak (13 points), Kelly (7), Kelly Skorczewski (6) and Gabby Blackwell (6).
Nicole Collins paced the Fillies with 12 points followed by Bartz (7) and Brooke Gunderson (7).
Gunderson hit a 16-footer with under a minute to go to send the game to OT. Angie Kirchoff also had a big 3-pointer for Barrington to get the Fillies to within 2 points in the fourth quarter.
"It was a good competitive game and we made a nice comeback," said Barreiro, whose team shot 19 percent in the first half and 33 in the second. "But we have to understand we have to play all four quarters. It's a tough lesson we are learning."
Buffalo Grove 44, Wheeling 42: The Bison (2-9, 1-2) got their first win in the MSL East as junior Bailey North clicked for a game-high 14 points. Emily Cho added 10 for the Bison and Becca Appelt 8.
Kellie Kuzmanic (10 rebounds) and Hailey Dammeier (3 rebounds) led the Wildcats (1-11, 0-3) with 10 points apiece while freshman Deanna Kuzmanic and Leah Malsom (5 rebounds, 2 steals) each added 9.
Point guard Deanna Kuzmanic was playing in her first game since suffering an ankle injury two weeks ago against Barrington.
Fremd 64, Hoffman Estates 27: Ashley McConnell (16 points), Haley Gorecki (11) and Jessi Wiedemann (7) were top scorers for MSL West-leading Fremd (9-0, 3-0).
McConnell had two 3-pointers while teammate Sarah Macius, Gorecki and Wiedemann each had one.
Junior Destinee Young led Hoffman (1-8, 0-3) with 14 points.
Palatine 44, Conant 25: Nia Pappas led the Pirates (7-3, 2-1) with 18 points in the MSL West win at Conant (4-9, 1-2).
Niles North 63, Maine West 49: Brittany Collins (12 points), Amanda Hoye (10) and Ashley Collins (9) and Alexis Prosperi (9) led Maine West (3-10, 3-1) in the CSL North game.
Crossroads 49, Christian Liberty 39: Jayna Rowland (13 points) and Megan Sullivan (9) led Christian Liberty.