Barrington shoots lights-out, hands Carmel 1st loss
By now, Barrington sophomore center Molly O'Riordan is accustomed to staying mostly in the background.
For Barrington, junior guard Sophie Swanson grabs most of the headlines - and points - with her prolific shooting and driving ability.
But O'Riordan possesses a strong game, too.
She can dominate in the paint and even step outside to drill a 3-pointer.
On Tuesday night, O'Riordan showed her evolving game against Carmel, canning 5 3-pointers to finish with 21 points to lead Barrington to a 73-56 girls basketball win in the final game at the Exam Jamm at Lake Zurich.
At 6-foot-2, Riordan was a matchup problem for the Corsairs (7-1). She showed mobility by running the court and setting up inside for baskets, plus helped open up the lane for Swanson to drive by drifting past the 3-point line.
"I've been in a slump lately, so it was nice to shoot so well tonight," O'Riordan said. "Normally, Sophie is our big scorer, so it was nice to contribute, especially after being in a slump to get some points. I actually shot really bad in warmups, and was shocked to hit those early shots."
Swanson, who scored 33 points in Saturday's loss to Naperville North, showed off her vast skills to a crowd of college coaches. She scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the first half to give the Fillies (6-2) a 48-32 lead. Sophomore guard Gwen Adler ended with 13 points.
"Molly was hitting lights-out, which is good," Swanson said. "We came out fast and played really good. There was a lot of hype around this team, so we knew we had to come together and play as a team. We played really well, and it was a really good team win."
The Fillies put on a shooting clinic in the first half, quickly erasing a 6-0 deficit with a barrage of 3s. In total, Barrington's first 21 points came on 3-pointers for a 23-17 lead after the first quarter.
The Fillies hit 11 3-pointers in the first half, jumping out to a 44-25 lead following Laura Mahlum's second 3-pointer of the second quarter. Barrington finished with 14 3s.
The Fillies' transition game and prolific shooting helped neutralize Carmel's size advantage in the post. Carmel's 6-foot-4 senior center Grace Sullivan, a Bucknell recruit, and 6-5 junior forward Jordan Wood were no match for Barrington's cadre of 3-point shooters.
Barrington simply outran and outshot the taller and frontcourt-oriented Corsairs, beating them down the court for several transition baskets and daring Carmel to shoot 3-pointers. O'Riordan swished a 3-pointer from the wing to pad Barrington's lead to 57-34 early in the third quarter.
Wood, a Michigan State recruit, helped shrink the deficit with a second-half scoring barrage, collecting a team-best 20 points. Carmel sophomore guard Ashley Schlabowske added 10 points.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," Wood said. "But Barrington came out hitting every shot, and there was not much we could do."