Whitney Young 38, Buffalo Grove 32

NORMAL -- This was not the way Buffalo Grove's girls basketball team wanted to see its third straight trip to Illinois State's Redbird Arena end.

Friday's 38-32 loss in the Class 4A state semifinal to Whitney Young was made even tougher because the Bison were in control 20-15 at half and saw the lead expand to 7 points in the third quarter, when they were less than 13 minutes away from playing for a second state championship this decade.

Junior Kaitlin Hillner hit her second 3-pointer of the game made it with 5:13 left in the third period.

More Coverage Stories Dineen focuses on successful finale [03/01/08] Bison faithful deflated by another loss at state [03/01/08] Bison notebook [02/29/08]

However, the Dolphins (28-3) went on a 12-2 run, capped by D'Franz Smart's startling drive and layup and a rebound bank shot by Porsha Harris which made it 32-29 with 5:15 left in the game.

Two free throws by Allison Mocchi got the Bison to within 32-31 with 4:42 left, but Whitney Young outscored the Mid-Suburban East co-champs 6-1 to the wire to advance to today's state title game against Bolingbrook at 8:15 p.m.

The Bison (34-2) will face Marist (25-9) for third place today at 6:30 p.m.

"It's just really hard right now," said Bison four-year starter Maggie Mocchi, who scored 8 points with 3 assists. "You work so hard for four years to accomplish everything you want. It's just hard."

It was hard, but unlike the past two losses here the last two years, the Bison will play another game today and come home with some hardware.

"These three young ladies (senior standouts Ellen Ayoub, Maggie Mocchi and Allison Mocchi) have gotten this program to another level," said Bison coach Tom Dineen, who directed BG to the Class AA state crown in 2000. "Right now it's difficult for them to find the right words to relay their feelings and for me, too. But the good thing is we get another game (today)."

Friday's game started fine for BG as Hillner hit two 3-pointers in the first half while Ayoub and sophomore Heather Nisbet each had one to provide the Bison with 12 of their 20 points before the break.

"I thought we were outstanding defensively in the first half," Dineen said. "But in the second half, we didn't defend as well, didn't rebound as well, and our shot selection was not ideal."

For the game, Whitney Young outrebounded BG 40-25. The Bison were 12 of 39 from the floor while Whitney Young finished 15 of 48.

"We were taking the same kind of shots in the second half that got us to this point," Dineen said. "So it is difficult to be critical of our shot selection."

Allison Mocchi led the Bison 10 points, while Hillner finished with 9 and Nisbet 6.

"I thought Kaitlin Hillner played the game of her career," Dineen added. "Our No. 1 objective was to contain Smart and I thought Kaitlin did a great job. She also hit some huge shots for us."

D'Smart, who is headed for Rice, stands only 5-foot, but as usual, she plays big.

The elusive guard finished with a game-high 14 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

"For the past two weeks, after a team bonding meeting, all 13 of us said we'll sacrifice and give up something we do the most," D'Smart said. "Like watching television, or using our cell phones, using the internet or going on Facebook, which is the hottest thing out there now. I gave up the cell phone."

Now D'Smart and the Dolphins will give everything they have in a state title game after a pair of third-place finishes in 2005 and 2006.

"It's like Dick Vitale says," said D'Smart. "Awesome with a capital A."

Whitney Young coach Corry Irvin said her team wanted to make sure the Bison didn't get any easy looks in the second half.

"Every time you caught the ball, they had a hand in your face," Ayoub said. "Every time someone was open, they were really quick to get to that person."

Irvin felt her team made a nice switch on defense.

"We adjusted things for our four guards to make it easier to cover more areas of the floor" said the former Larkin standout. "I was hoping our defense would finally show up and it did (the Dolphins outscored BG 12-3 in the final quarter)."