Balanced efforts lifts Conant, Barrington; BG falls short
It's still early in the season, but Conant girls basketball coach Dan Travers likes what he is seeing from his Cougars.
"The girls are coming together as a team and we are starting to get the balanced scoring we need," he said after the Cougars rolled to a 53-37 victory over West Aurora in the third round of the Waubonsie Valley tournament.
Conant (3-1, 2-1 in the tourney) will wrap up play in the tourney today when it faces Naperville North at 11:30 a.m.
The balanced attack Saturday was paced by senior Lindsay Fillingim (12 points), senior Kelly Lomas (12), senior Alyssa Rawleigh (9) and junior Natalie Kutramanes (8).
Lomas connected for a pair of 3-pointers while Rawleigh had one.
Barrington 70, Regina 24: Led by Nicole Collins (17 points), Sarah Mass (11), Abby Kirchoff (9), Brooke Chandor (7), Lizzie Deuel (7) and Shelby Whigham (6), Barrington improved to 3-1 in the Bison Classic.
Mass, Collins and Sam Maasarani each had a 3-pointer for the Fillies, who meet Libertyville (5-0, 4-0) in the final round today at 12:30 p.m.
Grayslake Central 56, Buffalo Grove 47: Despite letting an 8-point lead become a 3-point deficit in the third quarter, Grayslake Central proved to be resilient.
A steal and 3-point basket by Emily Georgoulis in the final two seconds of the third quarter put Buffalo Grove ahead 38-35.
While the Bison seemed to have all the momentum heading into the fourth quarter, the Rams had what it took to take it away a few minutes later.
Central used an 8-0 run to start the final period and never looked back in a 56-47 triumph in the penultimate round of the Bison Classic.
Senior Rebekah Llorens scored the first two buckets of the final quarter which gave the Rams (3-2, 2-2 in tourney) the lead for good.
The senior forward finished with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.
"She is a great player," said Buffalo Grove coach Pat Dudle. "We talked about her in pregame. She had a great fourth quarter (14 points)."
"I thought Buffalo Grove played a whale of a game," said first-year Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn. "Every time I thought we had them put away they came back."
Senior Andrea DiPrima led the Bison (1-3) with 14 points while Georgoulis finished with 13, including her big steal and quick 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer.
"That was awesome," DiPrima said of Georgoulis's play. "She did a great job. She's a great shooter."
"That was a heads-up play by Emily," Dudle said. "I thought that might give us some momentum but we just ran out of gas (in final quarter)."
The Bison also received 4 points apiece from Bailey North and Alanna Zawlocki while teammate Emily Cho chipped in 3.
"We're not happy with the outcome of this game," DiPrima said. "We would have liked to have pulled out the win.
"But they have some great posts. That No. 15 (Llorens) really hurt us on the boards. Credit them. They exploited our weaknesses."
DiPrima had a game-high four 3-pointers.
"She continued to be impressive in the early season," Dudle said. "She has really improved with her defense.
"Andrea and our other seniors have really helped with chemistry and leadership on the floor. This tournament is tough and it's preparing us for the Mid-Suburban East. We are hoping it will pay dividends."
DiPrima and Georgoulis each had 3-pointers when the Bison recovered from the third-quarter 8-point deficit.
"We climbed back in it with great defense and great team rebounding in the third quarter," Dudle said.
Glenbrook South 51, Schaumburg 39: Led by 6-foot senior foreard Kelly Minx's 13 points, Glenbrook South finished the Schaumburg Thanksgiving tournament with a 4-1 record.
The Saxons (3-2) were led by 5-foot-10 junior forward Alyssa Saklak, who missed the first four games of the season with an ankle injury.
Senior Amanda Kelly and junior Jenna Gerber each added 7 points for the Saxons.
Marian Catholic 58, Hersey 42: State power Marian Catholic received a game-high 24 points from senior forward Simone Law while improving to 2-0 in the Maine West Tip-Off Classic.
The Huskies (2-1, 1-1 in the tourney) were led by senior Megan Rogowski's 22 points, including 3 3-pointers. Senior Stefanie Mueller and junior Jen Hall each added 6 for the Huskies, who meet host Maine West today a 2 p.m.
Crane 68, Maine West 33: Maine West fell to 0-3 after the loss to Chicago-area ranked Crane (1-1 in the tourney) in the Warriors own Tip-Off Classic.
Downers Grove South 38, Prospect 37: Prospect (1-3) fell to 1-2 in the Lyons Township tourney and will conclude play today at 1:30 p.m. against the host Lions.