Perfect afternoon for Prospect
Prospect’s girls basketball team remained perfect at the Jean Walker Field House on Saturday, improving to 5-0 on its home court.
And the Knights’ Michele Molini was almost perfect from 3-point range.
The junior guard made 6-of-8 from long distance to finish with a game-high 18 points as Prospect (11-8, 4-0) rallied from a 14-5 deficit to down visiting Buffalo Grove 55-45 in the Mid-Suburban East.
The Knights remained tied for first with Rolling Meadows (15-3, 4-0) in the division. The Mustangs edged Wheeling in overtime on Saturday and will host the Knights on Friday with the division lead at stake.
Molini’s 6-3-pointers were a career-high, just edging her previous best of five against Rockton Hononegah in the 2010 Charger Classic at Dundee-Crown High School.
Two of her bombs came in the final quarter to help the Knights pull away from the Bison, who went up 14-5 following Emily Cho’s second 3-pointer of the first quarter.
Cho finished with a team-high 15 points while teammate Morgan Angotti added 13.
“Actually, we’ve been practicing coming from behind like that,” said Molini, who also had 4 steals, 3 assists and took a big charging call when BG was trying to rally in the second half.
“We go against our sophomores and put a big deficit up on the scoreboard with a certain amount of time,” she said. “It makes for a high-energized practice and gives us confidence that we can come from behind.”
The Knights showed that energy in the second quarter when they outscored the Bison 19-7 to grab a 26-21 lead at the break.
Senior Maura Benson, who shared team rebounding honors (8) with freshman Taylor Will (7 points, 3 assists), caught a nice lead pass from classmate and former middle school teammate Christina Brucci and converted a layup to push Prospect ahead 26-19 with 25 seconds left in the half.
Cho’s driving scoop capped the first-half scoring.
Two free throws by Cho got BG to within 29-28 with 3:49 left in the third period before Molini tossed home her first of three 3s in the second half.
A layup by Brucci (11 points) and 10-footer in the lane by Benson (10 points, 3 assists) completed a 7-0 run and the Knights were back in command 36-28.
BG (4-13, 1-3) never got closer than 6 points.
Molini’s back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter gave Prospect a 49-36 advantage.
“A lot of our players were driving inside in the fourth quarter so it was really a team effort that allowed me to get the shots outside,” Molini said “When I got the ball, I was feeling the motion.”
Angotti was feeling the hot hand in the fourth quarter as she scored the first 10 points for BG. The senior forward hit a variety of inside shots, including a 12-footer from the baseline.
Angotti’s 2 free throws with 3:35 left made it 49-40 before Benson answered with a lean-in 6-footer from the baseline to extend the lead back to double digits.
“Morgan has been picking it up the last few weeks,” said Bison coach Pat Dudle.
“We jumped out quickly, but we weren’t mentally tough,” Dudle added. “When Prospect got more intense, we played on our heels. The bottom line is that Prospect was tougher than us.”
In their first three East games, the Knights rallied in the second half for wins. This time it was a first-half half comeback.
“We got ourselves in about the same situation early against St. Viator (61-39 win),” said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. “That’s the story of this team. They’re fighters. We talk to them about never hanging their heads, staying positive and it will pay off in the long run.
“We’re getting them to buy in to how important practice is. Leadership, effort and success is our motto.”
So far, it’s been a winning motto for the Knights in the MSL East.