South Elgin survives Barrington in double OT

From Barrington's first possession in the Class 4A Elgin regional final Thursday night, South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack screamed at the officials to call traveling against the Fillies.

Nearly two hours later, he finally got the call - and it all but sealed the Storm's 60-51 victory.

Barrington took one step too many along the baseline with 31.2 seconds left in the game's second overtime. The turnover gave the ball back to the Storm, who held a tenuous 55-51 lead.

Barrington never scored again, while South Elgin hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to give Mandernack his first regional title in his last four tries after coming up short in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He clutched his toddler son Antoš in his arms as he watched his girls receive the championship net at half court.

"Both teams were great and this is what it's all about," said an emotional Mandernack, as he paused to gather his feelings. "These girls have gone through a lot this year...I told them to just stay together, stay good teammates and keep fighting through. And they did."

The Storm (20-11) advances to play the winner of tomorrow night's game between Rockford Boylan and Belidere North at the Class 4A Belvidere North sectional on Tuesday.

Junior Madison Waichunas was clutch down the stretch, scoring 9 of her game-best 18 points in the fourth quarter and second overtime. Her final bucket of the night, a short inside shot off the Storm's swirling cut-and-cycle offense, gave South Elgin a 52-51 lead they never relinquished.

"I knew that was a game-changer when I made it," Waichunas said. "We really stayed focused tonight and never lost our concentration. We knew we were going to win this game. We've had to step up like that the last couple of games, and this showed that we can really work together. It's an amazing feeling."

Waichunas's classmate sharpshooter Megan McClure, normally lethal from 3-point range, endured a miserable night from the floor - she was just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc, and came up empty on her first six shots - yet still wound up with 16 points, including four crucial free throws late in the second bonus stanza. Freshman Caroline Croft added 11 - and a half-dozen rebounds, three in the second extra period.

Sydney Granby, who was a force to be reckoned with as Barrington (11-16) sought to pound the ball inside in the second half, had 13 points and Anna Mae King a dozen. Junior Taylor Thompson was in foul trouble much of the night and scored just 7 points, but all were in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

"I'm really proud of our kids. They battled hard," said Barrington coach Babbi Barriero. "I think we did just about everything but win the game, frankly. We had a lot of chances down the stretch with some good shots inside but just couldn't get 'em to drop. Those are the shots we want to take and those are the shots that have been working for us all year. We let too many rebounds get away and they got some second chances at crucial times. That hurt us."

The first quarter was the usual feeling out period one often sees at this time of year. King bookended a long jumper and a drive around a 13-footer by Granby to give the Fillies a 6-2 lead out of the gate. South Elgin then put up seven straight to take a 9-6 lead in the final minutes before Shanna Turczynski (9 points) hit the first of her three 3-pointers to tie the game at 9-9 after one.

There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first 12 minutes before Barrington closed the half with a 10-3 run to take a 27-23 lead at the break.

After the intermission, and after such an intense second quarter, the third quarter looked like it was from another game. Barrington managed just three points in the quarter on a Turczynski bomb 70 seconds into the period, yet still managed to own a slim 30-29 advantage thanks to South Elgin's 3 of 12 shooting in the period.

The Storm took the lead on McClure's second, and last, trey of the night with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter. From that point it went back and forth for the remainder of regulation: the lead changed hands five times and was tied four, including when Granby put in a loose ball as time expired to force bonus basketball.

The teams traded four points in the first overtime to go to the second knotted at 49.