Maasarani, Barrington rally past Buffalo Grove
Less than halfway through the first quarter Saturday, Barrington's girls basketball team trailed Buffalo Grove 8-0 in a second-round game of the Bison Classic.
"We just needed to take our time and be patient," said 5-foot-6 junior guard Sam Maasarani. "We had to try and find our offense because we had trouble with it Thursday, too (in a 39-33 season-opening win over Maine South)."
The Fillies found it all right, and give plenty of credit to Maasarani, who scored 10 of her career-high 13 points in the first half to help spark a 48-33 victory in the Buffalo Grove gymnasium.
"Sam did a super job," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "She shot the ball well and looked good offensively and defensively. I felt she sparked us in that first half."
Maasarani shared team-scoring honors with classmate Abby Kirchoff (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists).
Two buckets by BG senior forward Stacy Lialios and one apiece from Andrea DiPrima and KC Dunne gave the Bison the 8-0 advantage with 4:49 left in the opening quarter.
A 3-pointer by Emily Georgoulis gave BG (0-2) an 11-5 lead with 1:03 left in the quarter.
But Barrington went on an 18-4 run to take charge.
Maasarani and Kirchoff each hit a pair of 3-pointers during the big rally, which also included a nifty baseline save by Sarah Mass, who alertly tossed the ball back right into the hands of a teammate standing near the 3-point circle.
"Sarah is a heads-up player," Barreiro said. "She understands the game and makes great decisions with the ball."
Emily Harris added 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for the Fillies while junior Shelby Whigham tossed in 8 points with 7 rebounds. Junior Kiersten Tinkoff also grabbed 4 rebounds with her 3 points.
"I thought the real key was our defensive intensity," Barreiro added. "Our help side was strong and we were active on the boards. I thought Emily (Harris) had a great game, too. We had a nice, well-rounded effort."
BG was led by Lialios (9 points) and Dunne (8).
Freshman forward Bailey North (6-foot) scored her first varsity basket on an assist from Heather Nisbet, who made a long forward pass on a fastbreak capped by North's layup with 5:14 left in the third quarter.
That brought the Bison to within 36-33 but they would get no closer as Barrington built a big lead again with a 14-3 run.
"We are definitely not pleased with the outcomes of our first two games but we took some strides this game with our team defense," said BG coach Pat Dudle. "Barrington came up with some big shots, especially in the second half. They were the more aggressive and assertive team."