Fillies Still Sweet on Tournament

When the Sweet 16 Tournament first was instituted, the premise behind the series of games was to prepare the teams for the upcoming state playoffs with a quick batch of games, and despite a change in the format, Barrington’s coach Babbi Barreiro still treats these games the same way.

“We still use this tournament as a way to play great competition,” she said after Barrington’s 36-32 comeback win over Providence Catholic. “It’s a chance for the kids to play and get some experience against good teams in a different format.”

After starting the tournament with a 53-37 win over St. Charles North last week, the Fillies will conclude play in the Sweet 16 in Lake Zurich this Saturday, Jan. 28, with a doubleheader, which includes Fenwick (17-5).

The Fillies (11-12), who have never won the late January tournament and finished 2-3 last year, found themselves down quickly to Providence 15-11 at the end of the first half after shooting a mere 4 of 22. 

“I think we focused on the fact that we had good shots and looks (at the basket) but the (shots) weren’t falling,” Barreiro said of the team’s difficult start. “But we just concentrated on good defense and let that pull us through.”

So, just as Barrington began having difficulties finding buckets (a field goal drought by the Fillies that lasted nearly eight minutes), they returned the defensive favor by stopping any Providence movement on the scoreboard (held without a field goal for almost seven minutes to end the half and start the third quarter).

“We did a lot of nice things as a team,” she went on to say. “We got loose balls, rebounds and the little things to keep us in the game.”

Barrington’s stubborn defense, which only allowed 11 total points through the second and third quarters, was able to shut down the normally potent Cassidy Glenn (9 points), who would lead all scorers in the game.

Maddie “Bartz did a real nice job on Glenn,” Barreiro said of her junior forward who ended the night with 6 points in addition to the tough defensive assignment.

After stopping Glenn and the Providence offense, it was back to work for the Fillies offense, and during the third quarter it was a combination of K.D. Madden (eight rebounds) and Nicole Collins (four rebounds and four steals) helping Barrington to their first lead at 21-20. The seniors accounted for 14 of Barrington’s 18 points during the third and early fourth quarters and helped build on the team’s lead. Each would end the game with 8 points, while sophomore Angie Kirchoff chipped in 7.

But the Fillies weren’t going to be able to stop the Providence offense all night. Providence stormed back, forcing Barrington to win the game at the free throw line late in the fourth.

“The team was 9 of 10 down the stretch,” Barreiro said of the team that finished 14 of 20 from the free stripe but started 3 of 7. Brooke “Fanslow did a nice job coming off the bench late to hit some key free throws.”

The senior forward showed poise as she hit 3 of 4 free throws and scored all her points late. Fanslow hit the game-winning free throw, which gave Barrington the 36-32 lead with just more than a second remaining.

The win was the sixth of the Fillies’ last eight contests, and shows they are getting hot at just the right time as the Illinois High School Association playoffs are looming.

“I think we have been kind of finding our way here lately,” Barreiro said of a team that wasn’t really catching any breaks. “The majority of the teams we have played have been ranked, and when you are a young team, you sometimes have to take some lumps.”