Free throws help Hersey dump Barrington

Hersey senior Maddie Jacobson said she's looking to see where her path will take her at college next year, with a possible interest of majoring in mathematics.

Thursday night at Ken Carter Gymnasium, the senior's stellar play on defense, her terrific performance on the boards down the stretch, and the clutch free throw shooting from herself and her teammates added up to a 51-37 girls basketball win over Barrington.

On a night where neither team made a 3-pointer, the Huskies went 29-of-35 at the free throw line - including 17-of-20 in the fourth quarter - to claim the victory in a Mid-Suburban League runners-up matchup.

Hersey's Emily Collins tied a school record by going 12-for-12 from the line.

"We had each other's backs tonight," said Jacobson of her team, as the Huskies held off a compelling Barrington rally in the second half to score the win.

"In order to finish strong, we knew we had to pick each other up and be there for each other," said Jacobson. "It's a team game, and everybody stepped in and stepped up tonight. Free throws were such a huge part of the game and for everybody to execute from the line the way they did was a game-changer."

Taylor Thompson and Sydney Granby each scored 13 points for the Fillies, while Alison Funk and Michaela Goetze came off the bench to play outstanding second half defense and lead the Fillies' comeback.

"The problem tonight was that we got down by 14 points, and that's not a good start," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "But we battled back, and the defensive effort from Michaela and Alison was just phenomenal."

Jacobson had 3 of her 4 steals in the first half as Hersey built up a 28-14 lead at intermission.

Then Thompson scored 8 points in the third quarter to cut the Barrington gap to 34-25 heading into the fourth.

"We have a lot of kids who can score," said Barreiro, "and I thought we showed that tonight. Sydney Granby really kept us in the game in the first half. She had some great offensive looks."

Barrington kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter - especially on defense - and when Thompson hit 2 free throws with 6:52 remaining, the Fillies trailed just 34-31.

"Halftime was very important to us," said Goetze, a sophomore. "We were hopeful because we've come back from deficits like this before. In the fourth quarter we used every one of the eight minutes as a team to work together, passing the ball into the post, working the ball around the perimeter, trying to get the best shots we could. We were able to push through and get close."

"We were trying to work together as a team to get the lead," said Funk, a freshman. "We just listened to our coaches like we've been doing all season and tried to do what we do best. We just kept working hard on defense."

The Fillies had a chance to get even closer, but Jacobson helped stymie the Barrington rally with a couple of huge offensive rebounds, the second of which led to a couple of foul shots by Collins which gave Hersey some breathing room.

The Huskies went on to put the game away in the final stanza at the line, with Collins hitting 8 free throws in the period, and Mary Kate Fahey sinking 4.

Hersey outscored Barrington 17-12 in the fourth, with all its points coming from the foul stripe.

"That was the game right there," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley of her team's free throw accuracy. "I thought we played really good defense tonight, but on offense we kind of hit a lull."

The Huskies had a balanced scoring night as Collins led Hersey with 14 points, Fahey added 11, Mary McGrath scored 9 and Jacobson finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

"I give Barrington a lot of credit for coming back," said Jacobson. "We had a pretty solid lead at the half, then at the end we kept chipping away. I also give a lot of credit to our guards tonight. They were able to control the play and that led to a lot of fouls and a lot of free throws."