Barrington reflects upon narrow win at Schaumburg
The first and second halves of Friday night’s Mid-Suburban League West girls basketball game between Barrington and Schaumburg were practically mirror images of one another.
Schaumburg stood on the first-half side of the mirror, consistently running out to 5- and 6-point leads. Barrington was always able to claw back, though. And the game went to halftime tied.
Barrington stood on the second-half side of the mirror, and mimicked Schaumburg’s first half perfectly. It was the Fillies building several 5- and 6-point leads only to have the Saxons battle the game back to tie scores.
Barrington was finally able to build a 4-point lead in the final two minutes that Schaumburg couldn’t come back to tie, try as the Saxons might. Even then, the Fillies couldn’t breathe easy until Schaumburg guard Amanda Kelly’s 3-point attempt with just seconds remaining caught the back of the rim instead of the bottom of the net, and assured a 53-50 Barrington road win.
“They had us on the ropes a little bit in the first half,” Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro said. “It was kind of a game of runs, if you will. I was really proud of the kids tonight. I thought they played hard.”
Barrington (10-12, 3-3) senior guard Nicole Collins was a major factor in the Fillies having a strong second half. She scored 18 of her game-high 24 points after halftime.
“Collins, I thought, was just dynamite tonight,” Barreiro said. “She really took over at key times, and had some really key baskets. She’s just a gutsy player. I really believe that she’s one of the best players in the division, and I think that showed tonight.”
Collins said her shots early in the game were coming up short, and she knew she needed to use her legs more in her jump shot. Once she found her rhythm, there was no stopping her.
“We really wanted to win this game because our record isn’t too good right now,” Collins said. “Our (playoff) seedings are coming up this week, so we need a couple wins. We really wanted to get this win.”
Collins also had 8 rebounds for the Fillies. Senior Barrington forward K.D. Madden helped keep the Fillies close in the first half, when she scored all of her 12 points.
“All around it was a really hard-fought game,” Schaumburg coach Ashley Berggren said. “I give a lot of credit to Collins for really stepping it up. We also had a couple of missed opportunities where we gave up some offensive rebounds that led to 3-point shots.”
The Saxons’ trio of forwards — junior Jenna Gerber (15 points, 8 rebounds), senior Alyssa Saklak (13 points, 6 rebounds), and senior Kelly Skorczewski (10 points, 9 rebounds) — paced Schaumburg (9-11, 4-2) offensively.
“They’ve been working really hard as a team,” Berggren said. “This is the second half of the conference, and teams are going to step up their play. We have to continue to elevate our individual play as well.”