Carmel, Barr tough out win over Mundelein

Slowly but surely, Carmel Catholic veteran forward Brigit Barr is starting to look like her old self.

And that includes her face.

Heck, before she and her basketball teammates played host Mundelein in Thanksgiving tournament action Friday night, Barr even had the pair of stitches on the front of her chin taken out.

"The swelling's gone down (too)," Barr said.

The five stitches on the inside of her mouth remain, but Barr continues to play hurt - and well. She helped Carmel tough out a 49-31 win against Mundelein, as sharpshooting Katie Lach had a game-high 21 points (four 3-pointers) and 9 rebounds.

Barr took an errant elbow to her face in the third quarter of Carmel's season-opening win over Highland Park on Monday night.

"It hurt a lot," Barr said after scoring 9 points Friday night in helping Carmel improve to 3-1 in the tourney. "I collapsed and screamed a little bit because it was bad. I could feel my tooth going through my lip."

An oral surgeon the Barr family knows stitched her up later that night at his office. One of Barr's bottom teeth pierced the inside of her mouth.

"The first couple of games it hurt, definitely," Barr said. "I ice before and after significantly, but this game I felt pretty good."

Lach and Caitlin Teehan each scored 5 points in helping Carmel build a 19-4 lead late in the opening quarter. Mundelein (1-3) pulled within 29-23 in the second quarter, but Barr buried a top-of-the-key 3-pointer with 1:10 left before halftime to stretch the Carmel advantage to nine.

Now that felt good.

"(The injury) definitely made me a little more timid under the basket," Barr said. "I felt like I settled for a couple of more jump shots, instead of taking it to the basket, but tonight I really tried to attack the basket because I was feeling better."

Carmel coach Ben Berg is feeling good about his team, which had only 13 turnovers through three quarters against Mundelein. Teehan and 6-foot-2 freshman Grace Sulivan (11 rebounds) added 8 points apiece in the win.

"One of the biggest things, for the most part, is we've taken care of the basketball," said Berg, whose Corsairs play Grant at noon Saturday in their tourney finale. "That's such a key to value the ball. We've done that, even against Glenbrook South's pressure for most of the game. I thought tonight we did. We had a few hiccups, but you're going to have that early in the season."

Carmel has played the entire tournament without sophomore guard Lily Coulthard (sprained ankle), who is expected to be a part of Berg's rotation when she returns.

Barr will be back to her old self soon enough.

"She's a senior so she knows what's going on," Berg said of his three-year varsity starter. "She's an intelligent player."

Kendall Klatt led Mundelein with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Morgan Frank had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals. Mustangs coach Greg Dorgan has been seeking complementary players for his two returning starters and has been encouraged by the play of sophomores Kadra Balla and Eva Thier.

"They're both soccer players," Dorgan said. "We just love the way that they move their feet. They're extremely helpful for us defensively. Eva took 4 charges in two games (before Friday's game). That's just the little spark that we needed, and she can handle the ball a little bit."