Barrington holds off South Elgin for sectional crown
Barrington's slice of the pie was bigger than South Elgin's Thursday in the Class 4A girls basketball sectional final at DeKalb.
South Elgin had a nice size piece in the first half. But it was Barrington that came away with all the cream as the Fillies survived with a 58-51 win.
"I am super proud of the girls," Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro said. "We were so tight to start the first quarter. We were a little out of rhythm. But we were able to battle back. This has been a goal of this team since the start of the season."
Barrington (28-5) will meet St. Charles East in Monday's supersectional at South Elgin at 7 p.m.
South Elgin (27-6), which lost to Barrington at Christmas, got off to a quick start as the Storm fired out to a 7-0 lead. South Elgin was able to keep Barrington at bay defensively as well, as the Fillies opened the game missing their first 9 shots and turning the ball over twice.
Barrington finally found its mark and the Fillies closed to 12-9 on a rebound basket by Sophie Swanson at the first quarter buzzer.
Led by Ella Winterhalder, the Storm went on a 7-2 run to open the second quarter as South Elgin built a 19-11 advantage.
Barrington's Molly O'Riordan started going outside for the Fillies. The 6-foot-2 sophomore, drilled a 3-pointer. She then used her height advantage under the basket for a sweet reverse layup that tied the game at 21-21.
Winterhalder's 3-pointer kept the Storm ahead and enabled them to take a 24-23 lead at the half.
It was Barrington's turn to get off to a strong start to a half. The Fillies scored 12 unanswered points to start the second half.
They also held South Elgin without a basket until as the Storm missed their first 11 shots and turned the ball over three times.
South Elgin, couldn't quite match the Fillies' firs- half comeback as the Storm scored with just 30 seconds left in the quarter on a 3-pointer by Zoie Lewis. O'Riordan scored just before the buzzer as the Fillies led 37-27.
Swanson then put the game away with a pair of 3-pointers to spark an 8-3 run to open the final quarter and give Barrington a 45-30 lead with 5:44 to play.
It was South Elgin's turn at a comeback. The Storm battled back to close to 47-45 with 1:46 left. But a layup and 8 free throws by Swanson along with a free throw by Allison Funk were enough as Barrington hung on for the win.
"We really came together as a team," said Swanson, who had 15 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter. "We knew coming into the second half we had to play our game."
O'Riordan had 16 points for Barrington while Funk had 13 points. South Elgin was led by Raina Yang, who had 14 points. Lewis had 10 points while Winterhalder and Caroline Croft each had 8 points.
"Our girls absolutely battled their hearts out," South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack said. "They will remember for the rest of the lives of how hard they fought."