Bair, Glenbard South overcome St. Edward in overtime
St. Edward was the better team for the better part of 32 minutes in a Metro Suburban Conference crossover girls basketball game against Glenbard South on Thursday in Glen Ellyn.
Then the hosts' 6-foot-3 junior Maggie Bair took over.
Bair, who had just 11 points at halftime and was held scoreless for the first 14:35 of the second half, scored 8 straight points, including the game-tying basket in regulation, to lead the Raiders to a 41-36 overtime victory.
Bair also had three steals in the extra session as Glenbard South improved to 15-1.
"(St. Edward) is a strong team," Bair said. "They are really physical. They knew how to get after us. We didn't respond as well as we should have to the physicality. We need to get tougher. I know I need to get a little tougher. We did not respond as well as we should have."
St. Edward opened the second half with 6 unanswered points, including back-to-back baskets by Madison Knott to take a 26-24 lead. The Green Wave broke a 30-30 tie on a runner in the lane by Mariel Franco with 2:31 remaining in regulation before Bair took control.
"(Bair) is a really talented player," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. "She is really tough to defend because she can score inside or on the perimeter. Haley (Niehaus) really stepped up tonight with her defense on (Bair) and the rest of the team had a great rotation.
"(Bair) was definitely our main focus, but we know that they are also a very strong team," Dawson added. "We weren't happy with our turnovers in overtime. but overall, it was a really well-played game for us."
Bair opened the overtime scoring with a basket off her own missed free throw, then added two free throws and a basket off a feed by Sarah Cohen before two Raquel LaPonte free throws extended the lead to 40-32 with 59.3 seconds remaining.
A free throw by Niehaus and a 3-pointer by Knott with 8.2 seconds left sandwiched around a free throw by LaPonte accounted for the final margin.
"St. Edward is a great team," said Glenbard South coach Morgan Kasperek. "They were super physical. They executed and honestly they were the better team tonight. They went to the basket hard and continued to go.
"We got put on our heels and got nervous with the contact," Kasperek added. "We have to establish that we are OK with contact and we have to start in practice. That's our (modus operandi) right now. Be physical with Glenbard South and we struggle."
Bair had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Mady Carli added 9 points and Sarah Cohen had 7 for Glenbard South, which played without 6-foot senior Ally Daca.
"Ally is sick with the flu," Kasperek said. "She is one of our best interior defenders, so that does make a big difference. But the girls should be able to step up and play without anyone. The freshman (Alex Wilharm) did a nice job for the minutes she played, which was big."
Yssa Sto. Domingo had 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers, Franco had 9 points and Knott added 8 for St. Edward (10-6), which has dropped three of its last five games including Wednesday's 55-53 setback to South Elgin.
"This is the toughest part of our season," Dawson said. "We were looking forward to this stretch because if you don't have these tests against a good teams, you never improve. You have to see what you have got, where you are at and what to build on."