Barrington runs away with St. Charles East, all the way to Redbird
It's not often a supersectional ends with a running clock, but that's how the last eight minutes ticked away for Barrington in its 64-33 blowout win over St. Charles East Monday night at the Class 4A South Elgin supersectional.
Having never made it to state before, everybody wearing the Barrington red and black could hardly wait to see that clock hit 0:00. It got their that much faster Monday because of how well Barrington played on both ends of the court.
"It's our coach's (Babbi Barreiro) first time to state in her 29th season and I'm so glad it was this team," said sophomore center Molly O'Riordan, who was a force inside all night.
"My freshman year we said we were going to state but we didn't actually mean it," senior Laura Mahlum said. "It's fun senior year that we actually got it done."
Barrington (29-5) will play Bolingbrook at 4:15 p.m. Friday in the second state semifinal at Illinois State University.
That's been a goal all season. Mahlum said it was after beating Prospect in the MSL championship game that the Fillies felt like this could be the year.
"We have so many fans here and alumni here that have been part of it," Barreiro said. "It's really special. It's an honor and privilege to coach here at Barrington. Fingers crossed it keeps going."
The running clock, brought on by Barrington's 59-24 lead after three quarters, said everything about how much the Fillies dominated St. Charles East (22-7).
Barrington scored four quick points to start the game on Gwen Adler's baseline jumper and Purdue commit Sophie Swanson's assist inside to O'Riordan. The Fillies' lead stood at 10-6 late in the first quarter when things got completely out of hand for the Saints.
Mahlum drove for a basket, the start of a 20-0 run that left Barrington up 30-6 late in the second quarter. By halftime it was 40-10.
"They made everything and we couldn't make anything," Saints leading scorer Torrie Kortan said. "They got the momentum from the beginning and we didn't get it. Unfortunately we couldn't come back from it."
The Saints turned the ball over 18 times in the first half, struggling with both Barrington's full-court press and 2-3 zone in the half-court. They made only 3 of 20 shots in the first half while Barrington sizzled at 17 for 30.
O'Riordan blocked 7 shots, making life difficult any time the Saints tried to go inside. She also scored 21 points, capping the first half by banking in a 3-pointer.
"I feel Molly gets better and better every time she hits the floor," Barreiro said. "She just works so hard. So diligent. I'm happy for her, happy for this team. They have worked so hard all year long."
Up 30 at halftime, Barrington didn't let up in the third quarter. Swanson buried a 3-pointer, then O'Riordan scored six straight in an 11-2 run that made it 51-12. Barrington's biggest lead came at 55-14, and late in the quarter both Swanson and O'Riordan checked out of the game to big ovations.
The Fillies held the Saints to 24.4% shooting from the field (11 for 45) while sinking 60.9% (28 for 46) of their shots.
"Our defense has really become a unit," Mahlum said. "I feel like we did a really good job on our scouting report. Our team is dedicated to that. When we stared to frustrate them it was a pat on the back to us."
Swanson scored 21 points and had 4 assists. Mahlum added 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Sophomore Alexis Maridis scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half to lead the Saints. Cali Papez scored 8 points and Kortan had 5 with 6 rebounds.
"In the first quarter we couldn't hit a shot, and then we started pressing," Saints coach Josh Foster said. "Sometimes you come in and play your best game. Sometimes you play your worst game. Today was that day."
Foster took over in January and led the Saints to their first sectional title since 1987 - a run that included wins over Willowbrook, Geneva and Wheaton North that all came down to the final seconds.
"This whole season has been quite the roller coaster ride," Foster said. "I've been watching sports a long time. Any time there is a coaching change midseason, a lot of times the season goes in the toilet. This year we pulled it together, kept it going."
"A lot of teams would have rolled over but we didn't," Kortan said. "We got to a game that no one has ever got to in East history."