Lake Forest ousts Buffalo Grove
It's turned out to be a magical season for the Lake Forest Scouts girls basketball team.
And it got a little better after Thursday's 62-39 decision over seventh-seeded Buffalo Grove in the Class 4A regional title game at Lake Forest.
With the victory, the second-seeded Scouts (25-7) tied for the most wins in school history and will move on to play third-seeded Libertyville in the sectional semifinals at Libertyville next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
"It's amazing to tie the record and be on this team," said sophomore point guard Molly Fisher, who was one of many heroes on Thursday night. "We came out strong and didn't let up, especially in the second half."
Both clubs traded punches in the first quarter until Fisher's 3-pointer in the closing seconds gave the hosts the lead for good 13-10. Bison junior Megan Fontanetta's layup had previously tied the game 10-10.
The Scouts got the inside game going in the first with senior forward Elle Pearson popping in 6 of her game-high 16 points.
"Buffalo Grove is a good shooting team. But credit our kids. They made that extra pass and played very unselfishly," said Scouts head coach Kyle Wilhelm.
A pair of 7-0 spurts in the second period allowed Lake Forest a little separation as it vaulted to a 29-17 lead at intermission.
And when the inside game was defended well by the Bison, Fisher (9 points) was open in the second period for the kick out. She finished with 3 treys on the night.
"We've been practicing the dribble and drive and to kick it out to the perimeter," added Fisher.
Sophomore guard Finola Summerville had the hot hand in the second, scoring all of her 7 points as the Scouts outscored BG 16-7.
The Scouts came out on fire once again in the third. Fisher's second trey started a 22-5 run that ended in a 51-24 lead by the end of the third.
Junior guard Halle Douglass hit for 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers as well.
"It's amazing tying the school record," said Douglass, who also snared 8 boards on the night. "We played relentless defense and built our lead in the second half."
The Scouts' biggest advantage was 62-28 late in the contest before the bench was fully emptied.
Meanwhile, Buffalo Grove has every reason to hold its head high.
"It's been a heck of a season. We went from five wins a year ago to 17 this year. I'm so proud of these girls," said BG coach Stephen Kolodziej. "We had a rocky start tonight and got caught in quicksand and couldn't get ourselves out. Lake Forest shot the ball well. That's the most points we've given up all year."
Senior forward Sydney Fortman chipped in 10 points, while junior forward Kendra Lee added 9 for the Bison, which finished 17-13.