Prospect pieces it together in second half

Trailing 25-16 at half, Prospect's girls basketball team couldn't have had a more productive intermission break.

"We were in the locker room and had a motivating talk," said Knights senior guard Margherite Pettenuzzo.

They must have been powerful words because things then came together quite nicely for the Knights, who rallied for a 44-42 triumph over visiting Hersey at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.

"The morale was low after the first half but the girls just made a decision in the locker room to control the game," said Knights assistant coach Marie Baker, filling in for head coach Gabrielle Lovin who recently gave birth to her second child. "They came out in the second half a totally new team, with a totally momentum. They came together, stepped up and stay organized."

Senior Emily Frasco (4 rebounds) led Prospect (6-2, 2-0) with 14 points (three 3-pointers) followed by Sara Biesterfeldt (7), Pettenuzzo (7), Stephanie Kowalczyk (5) and Ashley Adams (5).

"Stephanie Kowalczyk stepped up big for us," said Baker, a former standout center for the Knights who played at Eastern Illinois. "Helen Siavelis, Margherite Pettenuzzo and Abbey Danciu (3 rebounds) all came off the bench and played strong. They didn't let the mental game of not starting or any selfishness get in the way. They played for their team and we got results."

Leading Hersey (4-5, 1-1) were Katie McGrath (16 points), Erin McGrath (14 points) and Claire Rogowski (6 points).

Wheeling 50, Buffalo Grove 42: Host Wheeling improved to 7-2 and 1-1 in the MSL East as Morgan Collar (12 points), Nansy Velev (12 points), Christina Pierini (10 points) and Nosa Igiehon (10 points) were the Wildcats' top scorers.

Buffalo Grove (1-8, 0-2) was paced by Alyssa Ramos (8 points), Zori Angelova (7 points) and Alyssa Floro (7 points).

Rolling Meadows 63, Elk Grove 43: Host Rolling Meadows (8-3, 3-0) was led by Bridget Rolla (16 points), Melissa Spiwak (12 points, two 3-pointers) and Elisa Kowalski (6 points) in the MSL East contest.

"I thought our kids made a lot of plays on both ends of the floor to make each other better," said RM coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "Bridget Rolla (8 rebounds) played her best all-around game on the varsity level. We had big contributions off the bench from Mallory Brand, Kristin Dillon (6 points, two 3-pointers) and Elise Kowalski."

Megan Murray (13 points), Rachel Kandefer (11) and Zoe Blomquist (8) led the Grenadiers (4-5, 0-2).

Conant 38, Schaumburg 33: Host Conant (2-6, 1-1) was paced by Cate Fitzgerald (13 points, three 3-pointers), Hannah Shulman (9 points, one 3-pointer) and Taylor Cyr (8), who had a pair of 3-pointers in the MSL West game.

Ariana Doroskin led Schaumburg (0-9, 0-3) with 8 points while Kayla Patterson and Kendall Fredrickson each chipped in 7.

Barrington 49, Hoffman Estates 34: The host Fillies (3-5, 2-0) were led in the MSL West matchup by Tori Meyer (14 points) and Taylor Thompson (11). Teammates Anna Mae King and Shanna Turczynski each tossed in 3 pointers.

"I was very happy with the defensive intensity of Tess Conforti," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "She did an excellent job of forcing (Raven) Wilson into some tough shots. Her intensity set the tone early on for us."

Barreiro also praised the play of Rachel Mori.

"Rachel probably played her best game of the season," Barreiro said. "Her leadership and communication were excellent. Tori Meyer had some big buckets as usual and Taylor ripped some big boards late in the third quarter. We had nice contributions from a lot of kids."

Hoffman (2-7,0-2) was led by sophomore Nora Thomas (8 points) while Kate Mangold and Tayler Williams each chipped in 7.

Maine West 59, Deerfield 23: Visiting Maine West (10-0, 3-0) was led by Alisa Fallon (12 points, 3 assists), Angela Dugalic (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Jessica Riedl (8 points) in the Central Suburban North game. Fallon had a pair of 3-pointers and teammate Sarah Magnoni had one.

Taft 57, Leyden 45: Senior guard Amalia Figueroa converted a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for the host Eagles in the nonconference game.

Junior guard Jasmine Igartua added 9 points while senior Megan Michorczyk scored 8 points off the bench.

Leyden coach Stephanie Kuzmanic praised the "huge defensive effort" by junior forward Gabriela Hurtado.