Prospect uses 3-pointers to get past Rolling Meadows

When it came down to winning a big game against visiting Rolling Meadows, 3-point shooting was the name of the game for host Prospect Friday night in Mid-Suburban East girls basketball action.

An 8-point run capped by senior Jenna Acosta's 3-pointer gave the Knights their biggest lead of the game at 37-25 with 6:10 to play.

Rolling Meadows (9-3, 6-3) put together a great comeback attempt as a 9-point rally cut the gap to just 37-34 with 2:43 remaining.

But a 3-pointer by Prospect junior Macy Zei, and a trey by teammate Andie Will, boosted the lead back to 44-34 with 1:51 left as the Knights came away with a hard-fought 46-37 victory.

"I'm pretty happy with how we played, I thought we were much tougher than the last time we played them," said Rolling Meadows coach Ryan Kirkorsky, whose team lost to Prospect 48-26 in their first meeting. "Credit to Prospect, they really get after it defensively, and they had some kids step up and hit some timely shots whenever we made a run."

Prospect (8-4, 7-2) hit 4 of its 9 treys in the pivotal fourth quarter as Zei scored all 12 of her points from 3-point range.

"The energy was just crazy on the bench, and the team had my back even if I missed them," said Zei. "I'm not as confident driving, so right after middle school I started working on my 3-point shots."

The Knights led 11-9 after one quarter, 22-14 at halftime, and 29-25 after three quarters as they could never quite pull away from the pesky Mustangs until the very end.

Rolling Meadows' late 9-point rally started with a 3-pointer by junior Emily Galvan (11 points) while 4 straight points by teammate Madi Niedbala (team-high 12 points) closed out the big run.

Will joined Zei with a team-high 12 points each while Prospect's balanced scoring also saw Summer Srodulski score 10 points, and Acosta score 8 points and haul down 8 rebounds.

"I thought (Zei) hit some really big shots, and we always have confidence in her making the open look when it's necessary," said Prospect coach Matt Weber. "We knew Rolling Meadows was going to come in and battle us, and we just went out there and executed."

The Mustangs got off to a good start right away with a 7-2 lead early in the first quarter. But the Rolling Meadows offense would go cold after that point as a 17-4 run gave the Knights their biggest lead of the first half at 19-11 with 4:33 left in the second quarter.

The Mustangs outscored Prospect 11-7 in the third quarter to stay within striking distance as 6-foot-3 Rolling Meadows freshman Roisin Grandberry scored 7 points in the contest despite missing some minutes due to foul trouble.