BG's perfect run ends in overtime

The bad news for Buffalo Grove's girls basketball team is its perfect record took a hit in Saturday's championship game of the 25th annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.

Fenwick won its fourth straight crown by defeating Buffalo Grove 60-52 in overtime.

The good news is that the last time the Bison won a state championship in 2000 they didn't win the Charger Classic.

"These kids have a goal to win the state title," said Bison Hall of Fame coach Tom Dineen, who was honored prior to the game for his retirement from teaching after the school year. "So we've still got to make changes. Fortunately there are still five to six weeks to do that."

Sophomores Tricia Liston (23 points) and Katlyn Payne (16) helped lead the Friars (16-2) past the Bison (16-1), who were ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.

The Bison, whose only lead was 2-0, were paced by senior Ellen Ayoub's 21 points.

It was Fenwick's seventh Charger Classic title in eight years.

"I would have loved to have seen Tom (Dineen) win the tourney if we didn't," said Fenwick coach Dave Power. "I was very proud of how our girls handled their pressure their pressure."

Kaitlin Hillner had the pressure shot of the game for the Bison. The 5-foot-6 junior drilled a 3-pointer from the side with 23 seconds left to tie it at 50-50 in regulation.

"That was just huge by Kaitlin," said the Loyola-bound Ayoub, who connected for a pair of 3s.

The Bison proceeded to force a jump ball and gain possession again for a final shot. However, one was blocked and then Maggie Mocchi (13 points) had to rush an off-balance 15-footer at the buzzer that hit the rim.

In overtime, Fenwick scored the first 8 points on 2 free throws from Liston, two from Lauren Gula, a layup by Claire Liston and 2 free throws from Tricia Liston.

"Tricia was on fire," said Payne, who lives in Schaumburg. "There's no other way to describe her."

Payne also described her game as a bit painful.

"I'm playing on broken foot," she said "I'm taking Motrin, I'm going to be out for two weeks now to heal it. So I really wanted to win this game because I knew I wouldn't be able to play next Thursday."

BG will host Fenwick at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a locally-televised game on Comcast.

"Since they came into the game No. 1 in the state and we were No. 5, we knew they might feel they had that edge," Payne added " I think that's what motivated us."

BG was 7-of-19 from 3-point range and 19-of-50 from the floor. Fenwick was 6-of-18 from long range and 18-of-43 for the contest.

Heather Nisbet and Lauren Angotti also had big 3s for the Bison. Allison Mocchi had 6 steals and Ayoub 5.

"We had good looks all night long," Dineen said. "We just didn't shoot well. I thought the big difference was the first eight minutes (18-9 deficit). We didn't play good defense or take care of the ball."

"That first quarter just wasn't good for us," Ayoub added. "If we could have it back, we would."

Fremd 38, Prospect 29:ΠJust like Fremd, Dani Videka is starting to play her best basketball.

Videka's increased playing time after recovering from knee problems is one of the many reasons Fremd (7-9) came away with a 2-2 record at the Charger Classic after its victory over Prospect (11-7).

The 6-foot senior scored 7 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the Vikings claim the seventh-place game of the 16-team tourney.

Just one day earlier, Fremd coach Dave Yates said the "Dani of old" was back.

Videka underwent ACL surgery in March, then tore her MCL in the knee during gym class this fall.

So it's been a slow process for the three-year varsity player to work herself back into the starting lineup.

She tore her ACL with nine game left last season after leading the Vikings in scoring eight times.

"Sometimes, there's pain but I just have to play through it," she said. "We've been playing tough team all along so it was nice to see some more in the winner's bracket of this tournament. We played really good team defense."

Fremd limited Prospect to 10 points in the second half after leading 22-18 at the intermission.

Megan Murray's 3-pointer from the top of the key tie the game at 8-8, but Fremd surged ahead with a 6-0 run on a layup by Kaitlin Jones, a free throw by Videka and a 3-point play by Lauren Zaworski.

Prospect went ahead 16-14 on a pair of free throws by Lexi Glennon but Fremd took the lead for good with a 9-0 run, ignited by Tracey Nachtsheim's 3-pointer.

Jones led Fremd with 11 points while Nachtsheim added 6 with 4 rebounds. Melissa Castles pulled down 3 rebounds with 4 points.

"We were really concentrating on our defense and getting stops," Videka added.

"Fremd did a good job on defense," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. "And they played hard."

Kelly's club was led by Murray's 9 points while Alyssa Glennon added 6 Rachel Hunt and Lexi Glennon each had 5 rebounds.

"We've been working rally hard in practice," Videka said. "So it really helped get us ready to play the tough teams we saw here."

Now the Vikings will return to their home floor on Jan. 8 against Rolling Meadows for the first time since their season opener on Nov. 12 against Evanston.

Johnsburg 55, Maine W. 51:ŒThe Warriors (12-5) were led by Mary Kusner (14 points), Erin Baumstark (13) and Brittany Begrowicz (10) and Colleen Vana (9) in the 13th-place game.

The Warriors bounce back into action on Jan. 8 when they host New Trier.