Girls Basketball: Maine South rights ship with win over Glenbrook South
BY MATT HARNESS mharness@pioneerlocal.com February 3, 2012 9:40PM
The Hawk's Mackenzie Duffy runs into a Titan defender during the girls varsity basketball game between host Maine South and Glenbrook South Friday February 3, 2012 in Park Ridge. Scott Hardesty/Sun-Times Media.
STANDINGS
CSL South
Niles West 7-2 19-8
Maine South 6-3 22-6
Glenbrook South 5-4 20-6
Evanston 4-5 14-11
New Trier 4-4 17-9
Waukegan 0-8 2-20
CSL North
Maine West 8-1 12-15
Niles North 7-2 15-11
Glenbrook North 5-4 17-7
Highland Park 4-5 12-11
Deerfield 2-6 5-20
Maine East 0-8 4-17
(Records through Sunday)
Article Extras
Updated: March 10, 2012 8:07AM
Everybody involved with the Maine South girls basketball program was tired of answering questions about what’s wrong with the Hawks.
At the same time, Maine South wasn’t accustomed to losing three in a row or five out of six games.
The No. 17-ranked Hawks finally turned the corner Friday with a much-needed 48-43 win over No. 20 Glenbrook South in Park Ridge.
“After all the losses, we talked about the good and the bad and how we could fix it,” said Maine South junior Jacqui Grant, who finished with 13 points. “We just had to relax and play as a team. We were really tight. Hopefully, we got it back for good, and we can continue to play like this through the playoffs.”
Against one of the best defenses in the CSL South, Maine South relied on one of the best ballhandlers in the business. Western Illinois-bound point guard Michelle Maher didn’t turn over the ball in the game and went 5-for-6 on free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks to the wire-to-wire victory. Maher tied Grant with a team-best 13 points.
“She did a really nice job (Friday),” said Maine South coach Mark Smith, whose club committed just 11 turnovers against the Titans.
Smith never was convinced the Hawks were in a full-blown funk. They lost to Niles West by one point at the buzzer a night before they fell to two of the best teams in the state in No. 3 Trinity and No. 4 Marist.
“I mean, had we beaten Niles West, we would have been almost perfect through 24 games,” he said. “Then, we lose to two great teams the very next day.”
But Smith agreed the Hawks needed a win for morale.
“This was a really important game for us to win,” he said. “It was important for us to get a win against a good team.”
Kaitlyn Mullarkey’s layup extended Maine South’s advantage to 42-33, before Colleen McDonagh knocked down consecutive three-pointers in 22 seconds to get Glenbrook South within three with 4:12 to go.
But the Hawks were able to withstand the late rally as Maher converted three throws in the final minute.
Sixth-man extraordinare Regan Carmichael carried the Hawks in the first half, scoring 10 of her 12 points. The junior’s basket midway through the second quarter gave Maine South its biggest lead of the game at 21-10.
Maine South is off until Friday when it closes out the conference schedule against last-place Waukegan. The Hawks, the No. 1 seed at the New Trier Sectional, start the state playoffs next week at the Niles North Regional.
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