Rolling Meadows lays it on the line, stops Palatine

Even though the Rolling Meadows girls basketball team recorded a 46-30 win over Palatine just eight days earlier, the Mustangs took nothing for granted on Wednesday night.

This time, playing in the semifinals of the Class 4A Grayslake North regional, much more was on the line.

And by stepping up at the free throw line, the No. 7-seeded Mustangs were finally able to put away the stubborn No. 10 Pirates.

All fourteen of their free throw opportunities came in the second half and the Mustangs converted on 11 to notch a 45-28 triumph.

No. 7 seeded Rolling Meadows (19-9) will face No. 2 Prospect (25-2) at 7 p.m. for the championship on Friday.

Mustangs senior guard Jamie Berry made 4 of 4 free throws in the final 1:42 and finished with a game-high 11 points.

"I thought Jamie was the difference on the defensive end," said Meadows coach Ryan Kirkorsky, whose team led by 1 point early in the second half. "And she knocked down some big shots."

Her biggest was a 3-pointer with 2:45 left in the game, giving Meadows a 38-28 lead.

"They hit some big 3s, and that was a big one," said Palatine coach Mark Johnson. "We got a couple of looks inside but we didn't convert them in the fourth quarter."

Katie Conklins's 3-pointer got Palatine (13-16) to within 29-25 after three quarters. But junior guard Megan King ignited a big fourth quarter for the Mustangs, one in which they outscored the Pirates 16-3.

King drove for a layup and then hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 34-25 with 7:02 left.

Sydney Rzepka drove the baseline for a bank shot that pulled Palatine to within 34-28 - but that's as close as the Pirates got.

Meadows sophomore Katherine Nolan hit a free throw to make it 35-28 before Berry hit her big 3-pointer.

"We knew this would be a different game than last week," Berry said. "Because neither team ran its sets that game. We knew this would be a fight because it would decide who would keep playing."

Sophomore Kyra Spiwak was another key Mustangs who helped decide the outcome by scoring all 7 of her points in the second half, including 5 of 6 free throws.

Sophomore Morgan Campagna (7 points) and junior Hannah Mickey each had 3 rebounds for the Mustangs.

Nolan, who made 2 free throws in the second half, finished with 7 points and team-high 9 rebounds.

"Katherine has just gotten better and better as the season has gone on," Kirkorsky said. "Megan King (9 points) hit some big shots early in the game and at halftime, we just told her to keep shooting."

Carthage-bound Monica Masini wrapped up her four-year varsity career at Palatine with 9 points, including a 3-pointer, while classmate Katie Conklin chipped in 6 points with a pair of 3-pointers.

"Rolling Meadows did the right things on defense, clamping down on us inside," Johnson said. "It made us shoot outside and we couldn't get the shots to drop. We just weren't getting the bounces. And their free throw shooting made a difference.

"But I am proud of these girls. Our seniors (Masini, Conklin, Maria Charlier, Mary Grace Grana and Anna Wozniak) have meant so much to us and the program."