Barrington eases past Larkin
After hitting some big shots for Barrington in its win on Tuesday night, Anna Mae King learned that hitting the books earned her a big award earlier in the day.
King was selected to the prestigious IHSA All-State Academic Team, an elite group of only 26 student-athletes statewide who achieve the honor.
It was certainly a day fit for a King, as she then put up a season-high 10 points for the No. 2 seeded Fillies in their 55-39 win over No. 8 Larkin in the semifinals of the Class 4A Streamwood girls basketball regional.
Not bad for someone who began playing Jan. 4 following an injury to her left tibia after she placed second in diving at the state swimming meet in November.
King, who scored a 34 on her ACT, will study business and dive at Boston College.
"Anna Mae is a pretty amazing kid for the job she does on the court, in the pool and as a student," Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro said. "She is just one of the hardest working kids we have had come into the program and it shows in everything she does."
King's back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second quarter extended the Fillies' lead to 21-3 and they never let the Royals closer than 16 points.
"Anna Mae had a real nice game," Barreiro said. "Offensively it was nice to see her get those shots up and hit them. I thought Sophie Swanson had a real nice game offensively. She got us going pretty quickly"
Swanson, a freshman, scored 6 of the Fillies' first 11 points as and they led 15-3 after one quarter.
"You can't give a team like Barrington, a No. 2 seed a 15-3 start," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp, whose team finished 11-21. "You can't get down 12 points and we've dealt with that all season and never came back. It was a challenge for us."
Swanson went on to score a team-high 19 points.
Fillies senior Taylor Thompson, who had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a blocked shot and a steal in the game's first two minutes, chipped in 11 points, including a 3-point play which made it 9-1.
Barrington did not allow a basket until freshman Baylei Johnson's putback with 4:22 left in the second quarter made it 21-5.
Senior Brianna Young led the Royals with a game-high 20 points followed by classmates Aaliyah Dixon (7) and Jannelle Clements (6).
"I thought we were competitive for the last three quarters," Knapp said. "We just we weren't ready to start the game. Bri (Young) played really well. She played hard the whole game and I think she was one of the players who made a difference for us. Ashley Miller has played hard all season. She just got in some early foul trouble."
The Royals graduate four seniors.
"We've got our 6-foot freshman Baylei back and Kathy (Garcia, a junior) and Jamilyn DeLeon (sophomore) will help us out with their defense," Knapp said.
King loves helping out her basketball teammates.
"I love being with my team," she said "I like playing hard with them and getting everyone pumped up. The whole basketball thing is fun. Being injured for the first half of the season, it feels really good to be back out there."
Barreiro loves having her back.
"I've had swimmers before but never a diver," Barriero said. "I'm really happy for Anna Mae. That's a very elite academic award she earned and I think she is really deserving."
The Fillies will face No. 3 McHenry for the championship at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
"We got ourselves in a little foul trouble but that's on us," Barreiro said. "We have to be a little smarter defensively going forward."