Kirchoff, Barrington turn back Conant

It was fitting that Angie Kirchoff’s shooting touch gave Barrington the breathing room it needed to pick up a victory on Friday night.

After all, it was Kirchoff’s sweet shooting in the third quarter that helped the Fillies’ girls basketball team erase a 6-point deficit.

And her most important shots came in a pressure-packed situation at the foul line as her 2 free throws with eight seconds left turned a 1-point lead into a 41-38 victory over Conant in Mid-Suburban West action.

“I wasn’t feeling any pressure,” Kirchoff said. “It’s the court that I practice on every single day. It’s the same free throws I shoot at practice. It’s just routine.”

Trailing 28-22 early in the third quarter, Kirchoff (game-high 11 points) nailed back-to-back jump shots.

After Megan Talbot’s rebound and putback, Kirchoff nailed a 3-pointer for a 31-30 lead that completed a 9-2 Broncos run.

“We came out with more intensity,” Kirchoff said. “We had to sprint on defense and get steals and get back and make something happen on offense, because we weren’t going to lose on senior night.”

With 6-foot-1 Bryana Hopkins on top of a 1-3-1 defense, Barrington (15-13, 5-5) frustrated Conant (11-14, 3-7) into 20 turnovers.

Hopkins, whose layup with 2:48 remaining gave the Fillies the lead for good at 39-37, finished with 9 points and 2 of her team’s 11 steals.

Conant’s Sarah Mazurek converted two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points while Katie Lomas added 8 points and 5 rebounds.