Girls Basketball: Buffalo Grove gets it right in win over Providence
By bill pemstein Contributor January 31, 2012 12:54PM
Buffalo Grove's Kim Herzog (left) tries to protect the ball against Lincoln-Way East's Amy Jacobsen during Saturday's Sweet 16 action at Lake Zurich. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:11AM
Buffalo Grove’s girls basketball team brought back two major players: Bailey North, and her inside moves, and speedy guard Emily Cho.
Thus, the Bison figured to be very competitive this winter.
They certainly looked the part on Saturday, when they took on Providence Catholic at the Sweet 16 Tournament.
North had a double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds). Cho drove to the hoop and picked up nine points. Sophomore guard Kim Herzog played great defense. And the Bison rolled to a 57-33 win at Lake Zurich.
But it really hasn’t been the best of basketball seasons for Buffalo Grove, which notched only its fifth win of the season. But with the postseason tourney coming up, maybe the Bison can look at the win and build on it.
“We’ve struggled to get wins,” North said. “But we did all the little things (Saturday). We were setting up screens and boxing out.”
BG coach Pat Dudle agreed with that assessment.
“As a team, we played well,” Dudle said. “That’s what we need. We got Bailey the ball and she did a good job finishing.”
With 20 losses on its record, a 4-0 start by the Celtics probably didn’t surprise many of the Buffalo Grove fans. However, four straight free throws by North knotted the score. A personal five-point run by Courtney Meyer gave the Bison a 19-9 lead halfway through the second quarter.
North has seen her team have solid quarters this season, but BG hasn’t played many complete games, as it did on Saturday.
“We’ve had a ton of good first halves,” she said. “And third quarters.”
Both North and Cho clearly did their part in the third quarter on Saturday. North had six of her points in the frame. Cho knocked down four free throws. The Bison blew the game open in the quarter, and with points coming from Herzog and Becca Appelt, the Buffalo Grove lead grew to 40-21.
Appelt added a three-pointer in the fourth quarter, and tallied five points. Morgan Angotti added four points for the winners.
Now, why has it been such a tough year for the Bison?
“We’ve played a very tough schedule,” Dudle said. “We’ve played five of the eight top seeds in the sectionals, and had four games with (No. 2) seeds.”
Naturally, North isn’t pleased to see her team lose on a nightly basis. But it isn’t curtailing her future plans.
“I think I’ve had a successful year,” North said. “I think that’s a reflection of how hard I’ve worked. Basketball is extremely important to me. I will play somewhere in college.”
Recap: Game 1 for BG on Saturday produced a 57-38 loss to Lincoln-Way East. Meyer led the Bison with eight points. Cho added six points.
The Bison surprised Prospect with a 14-5 start, but fell to the Knights 55-45 on Jan 25. Cho had 11 points.
On the schedule: Buffalo Grove is the 15th seed in the Palatine Sectional. Buffalo Grove heads to the Warren Regional for a game with Waukegan at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13. The winner returns to play Rolling Meadows at 6 p.m. the next night.
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