Barrington tops Hoffman Estates, keeps hope alive

Babbi Barreiro, the dean of Mid-Suburban League girls basketball coaches, had a message for her Barrington players before Thursday's penultimate West Division game.

"She said to us that we had to play (Thursday) before we could play for a championship (Friday)," said Fillies senior guard Abby Kirchoff, who has been one of the most productive players in the league over the last month. "This was a must win for (today's game at Fremd) to mean something."

Well, the Fillies meant business against a solid Hoffman Estates team that was celebrating Senior's Night.

Barrington senior Lizzie Deuel hit a 17-footer at the halftime buzzer for a 24-18 lead and the Fillies gradually increased the advantage throughout the second half en route to a 51-32 triumph.

The win means Barrington (18-9, 8-1) will play at Fremd (21-6, 9-0) today at 8 p.m. (following the boys game) for a chance at a co-championship and berth in the MSL title game Wednesday at Hersey.

Even though a win for Barrington would tie it with the Vikings for first place, the Fillies would advance to the title game due to the tiebreaker (more wins by 7 or more points in league play).

Barrington was able to pull away in the third quarter as Kirchoff scored 9 of her game-high 19 points. She has scored 19 or more points in six of her last eight games.

Kirchoff made 7-of-12 from the field including two 3-pointers while junior guard Nicole Collins also had a pair of 3-pointers while going 5-of-7 from the floor for 14 points.

"It's great getting a chance for part of the conference (West) championship," Collins said. "It's going to be the game of our lives."

Kirchoff finished with 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots while senior forward Shelby Whigham grabbed 5 rebounds before leaving the game with 2:26 left in the first half.

"It may be a sprained ankle," Barreiro said. "We're hoping she can play (today)."

Hoffman played right with the Fillies for much of the first half.

Trailing 19-9. the Hawks used a 9-2 run to get to within 19-8 when senior Jada Stotts made a 10-foot runner in the lane with 2:45 left.

But Kirchoff answered with a 3-pointer and Deuel hit her buzzer-beater to give the Fillies the 6-point cushion at the break.

A jumper by senior guard Sarah Mass (4 points) capped a 10-4 run by Barrington in the third quarter. Moments later, Kirchoff added a driving layup off a fastbreak and 2 free throws for a 40-26 lead after three quarters.

"Our rebounding was the key," Kirchoff added. "Precious Ogunleye, Jada Stotts (10 points) and Destinee Young (8 points) are so good on the boards for Hoffman.

"We knew we had to box out real well and try to get the over-the-back calls. I thought we did a pretty good job."

Stotts and Young each collected 6 rebounds for the Hawks (16-8, 4-5).

"Overall, I think Barrington is stronger physically than us and they go get the ball," said Hawks coach Mike Nocella, who also presented the Fillies' seniors with flowers during the senior night ceremony. "We tended to stand around. Mel McGinn came in off the bench and did a nice job for us.

"I thought we played great defense but our problem was that we had breakdowns. And you can't miss a lot of free throws (4-of-11) and layups and expect to win when playing a good team like Barrington."

Senior Kiersten Tinkoff, replacing Whigham in the second half, made 4 of 4 free throws.

"We got some great performances from our kids, and nice team balance," Barreiro said. "Kiersten gave us some great defense and connected on her free throws. She did a nice job."

Now the Fillies must go back to work against a Fremd team looking for a second straight MSL West crown and title game appearance.

"We've talked all season about getting another chance after our first loss to them (54-42) in the first game of conference," Barreiro said. "We're excited to play. And Fremd will be excited to play. It should be a great game."