Fillies still perfect after strong finish
Strong second-half performances from sophomore guard Abby Kirchoff and junior forward Emily Harris helped Barrington defeat host Schaumburg 63-54 on Friday night in each team's first Mid-Suburban League girls basketball game.
The Saxons led by a point at the half, but 12 second-half points from Kirchoff and 11 from Harris helped the Fillies take control of a game that had several lead changes.
"We just decided to play like we should," Kirchoff said of the second half.
Harris didn't play at all in the first half, but played almost every minute of the second. Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro said Harris is juggling basketball and club volleyball.
Barreiro said that playing two sports sometimes causes Harris to sometimes miss practice, which has been agreed upon. But Barreiro said there need to be consistent rules for everyone on the team.
Barreiro said she wants Harris to try to play both sports.
"She was a big help to us," Kirchoff said of Harris. "Passing it in the post, that's what got them (Schaumburg) to double team and then we cut off that."
Kirchoff finished with a game-high 18 points.
"She's doing super job for us right now," Barreiro said of Kirchoff. "She makes pretty good decisions with the ball. She can put the ball in the basket. She's a very good player. We're obviously thrilled."
Junior guard Taylor Kosla led Schaumburg with 16 points. She also had something about her you could only tell from being in the same gym. She had a very savvy, calming demenor about her, which seemed to rub off on her teammates and keep them at ease in the tense game.
"She had a very calming effect on us tonight, which was really important," Schaumburg coach Bill Murmann said of Kosla. "She brings a lot of calming effect and experience without even realizing it."
Jenny Schnack scored 10 points for Barrington (7-0) and Anna Kirchoff and Sarah Mass each had 7.
For Schaumburg (2-5), Sarah Kellermeyer had 14 points and Sarah McGinn added 8.
"We're going to be a lot better team in February than we are now, but we are starting to improve now," Murmann said. "We're working our way in the correct direction which we should be going."