Prospect holds off Glenbrook South in tune-up for Meadows

Prospect's girls basketball team visits Rolling Meadows on Friday, where a win would give the Knights at least a share of the Mid-Suburban League East crown.

They tuned up for that showdown with a solid effort in Wednesday's nonconference game in Glenview.

Senior Emily Frasco scored a game-high 22 points to help lead Prospect past Glenbrook South 55-48 at the Titan Dome.

"Prospect played really well," said Titans hall of fame coach Steve Weissenstein, who played basketball at Prospect. "They made the shots they needed to and they made free throws down the stretch. We didn't lose this game. They won it. If they play like this, they can beat a lot of people."

Weissenstein's team has shown it can beat a lot of teams, sporting a record of 18-7.

"They (Glenbrook South) are sort of similar to Rolling Meadows - they hustle, they play real fast and they're physical," said Knights senior Sara Biesterfeldt who chipped in 9 points, including a 3-pointer. "So we were looking at this game as practice for Friday. I thought we brought a really good performance and good team effort."

The Knights (14-8) brought a strong first half in which they outscored the Titans 32-32.

Frasco tossed in 12 of her 22 points and two of her three 3-pointers in the first two quarters.

"Frasco was terrific scoring 22 and she handled the ball really well," Weissenstein said. "They handled our pressure and they hit free throws down the stretch."

Free throws were not falling down the stretch or much at any other time for South, which converted only 5 of 18 (0-for-6 in the final quarter).

"That's been our Achilles' heel all season," Weissenstein said. "We were only 6 of 16 against Hersey (lost 48-32). We have good athletes. We just can't put the ball in the basket when we need to."

Kristin Ralston put the ball in the basket two minutes into the game and made 2 of 2 free throws a couple of minutes. later. Unfortunately, the 6-foot junior suffered a concussion shortly after and was sidelined the rest of the game.

"That hurt us, losing Kristin," Weissenstein said. "That wasn't good but we battled back."

The Titans made a big comeback with an 8-0 run the first minutes of the third quarter.

Shaw, who led the hosts with 16 points, hit two 3-pointers and Liz LaPierre scored on a layup to get the Titans to within 32-30.

"Runs like that happen," Biesterfeldt said. "Coach (Gabrielle Lovin) always says runs are going to happen for every team. That's how the game works. I think we just knew we had to calm down and play defense. Defense is something we've struggled with all season but we have gotten better at it."

South got its only lead at half when Villanova soccer recruit Makayla Stadler raced coast to coast for a layup to make it 42-40 with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

Frasco answered with a 3-pointer to give Prospect a 43-42 lead after three quarters.

South gained it last lead on LaPierre's bucket off an inbounds pass under the Titans' basket.

Prospect regained the lead for good when Frasco drove for a layup to make it 45-44 with 5:38 left. The Alabama-Birmingham recruit then made a steal and was fouled. She hit 2 free throws for a 47-44 advantage.

A nifty reverse layup off a rebound by Abbey Danciu extended the lead to 49-44 with 4:35 remaining.

South got back to within 49-48 but Stephanie Kowalczyk's 15-foot baseline jumper 2 free throws from Helen Siavelis and one apiece from Margherite Pettenuzzo and Frasco sealed the verdict.

"Glenbrook South is a well-coached, competitive team," Lovin said. "To be tested like this at this at this time of the season is good for us. Slowly but surely we're getting there. Emily (Frasco) looked good. And Sara's (Biesterfeldt) leadership really stood out among everything else. She really played well on defense and led the offense with her movement."

It was Prospect's fourth straight win.

"It's always fun playing Glenbrook South," said Lovin, one of Prospect's all-time leading scorers. "My last loss in high school was to him (Weissenstein) so I've got to pay him back. Next season is his last one. We're going to miss him. It will be a big loss for IHSA girls basketball."