Buffalo Grove takes care of Rolling Meadows

Buffalo Grove ended the first half of its Mid-Suburban East girls basketball schedule the same way its defense ended the first quarter on Tuesday in terms of giving up field goals.

Perfect.

The Bison did not allow a basket in taking an 11-3 advantage after eight minutes and Rolling Meadows never got closer in BG's 36-22 triumph.

The win left BG at 11-8 and 5-0 in the East, one game ahead of Hersey (16-6, 4-1) heading into the second half of the conference play.

Senior Megan Fontanetta's 3-pointer and freshman Kora Kipley's steal and layup gave BG an 18-5 lead with 4:45 left in the first half.

That equaled the Bison's biggest lead until Kim Stuerke hit 2 free throws with 4.4 seconds left in the third quarter for a 30-16 lead.

"We are taking it one game at a time," said Fontanetta, the Bison point guard. "We're just trying to work hard at every practice and just prepare for the next team we are playing."

That's exactly what Bison coach Steve Kolodziej is looking for from his senior-dominated team, which was led by Kipley and senior Macy Floro who each 9 points. Senior Kendra Lee and Stuerke each had 6.

Senior Zori Angelova, just back from a hand injury, chipped in 5 points, all in the second half.

"Rolling Meadows is a good team and this is a really tough place to play at," Kolodziej said. "To come out of here anytime with a win is good. We're excited about it. We're continuing to take that 'one-game mentality' approach. As we tell the kids, the next game is most important of the season."

Bridget Rolla and Madi Niedbala paced the Mustangs (10-7, 2-2) with 9 points apiece.

"At the start of the game, I think that they (BG) were more ready to go than us on both ends of the floor," said Meadows coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "They just looked like a mature team that executed their stuff. We didn't do that at any point of the game."

But Kirkorsky did not fault his team's hustle.

"There's nothing I question in terms of our effort," he said. "But I thought Buffalo Grove was better than us on both ends of the court. They had a good start to the game and we did not."

That good start include a free throw by Floro, a 17-footer by Stuerke, a driving layup by Floro, a putback by Lee and a layup and 2 free throws by Kipley for an 11-1 lead.

"It was a low-scoring game," Kolodziej added. "Fortunately we came out on the right end. We caught them on an off night. They didn't shoot very well and that was fortunate for us. We didn't shoot the best but a win is a win."

BG will start second-half MSL East play on Tuesday at Wheeling.

"Certainly, we had five games go our way in the first half," Kolodziej said. "But we are very aware that next five can go the other way. That's how our conference can go so hopefully we continue to build off this and good things will come."