Mid-Suburban League girls championship game. Overtime. Four seconds left. Hoffman Estates ahead by one point. Foul called. Buffalo Grove freshman Kim Bretz at the line. One-and-one.
Swish.
Swish again.
lo Grove a 66-65 victory in one of the most exciting high school basketball games anyone will likely ever see.
”Pressure, isn`t it?” said Buffalo Grove coach Tom Dineen, whose team came in as slight underdogs Thursday to the host Hawks. ”When I saw the foul (on junior Kim Johnson) and watched Kim go to the line, I turned to my assistant and said: `I hope to God she makes it.` If someone deserved to make those shots, it`s Kim Bretz.”
Afterwards, mobbed by her teammates, Bretz exhibited the same composure with the media horde she had shown at the line.
”I was scared, but I thought I could do it,” said Bretz. ”The gym was so loud that I had to think about what I was doing. Making the first shot helped a lot. After that, I decided to just repeat the same thing.”
That she did, sending the No. 4 Hawks (20-4) away disappointed but lifting the ninth-ranked Bison (20-5) to great heights.
”This game was a great building block for the state tourney,” said Buffalo Grove standout Michele Ratay, who totaled a game-high 26 points.
”This is supposed to be a fun, showcase game. It was, but it was also a test to see if we could keep our composure. Everyone on our team did a great job.”
Make that everyone on both teams. Both clubs put on a great show, with more leads being exchanged than baseball cards among a bunch of children. The largest margin any team had was five points and, early on, you just knew this meeting was something special.
”This reminded me of the recent Bulls-Utah game,” said Hoffman coach Tom Kendall. ”I`m surprised it didn`t go to two or three overtimes.
”Our girls are a little disappointed right now. Both teams played and excellent game. They (the Bison) just executed down the stretch. We had chances, but we didn`t win it. I just hope we can meet them again in the sectionals.”
The first time the teams met, Hoffman won by 20 points. That memory, said Dineen, fired his players up for this contest.
”I was very confident coming in,” Dineen said. ”I felt better tonight than I have for any game all year.”
Hoffman was ahead 17-16 after one quarter, but Buffalo Grove led 33-30 at the half. The Hawks went up 48-45 after three quarters and led 59-56 until Hoffman`s Katy Winski hit a three-pointer with 1:28 left in regulation to tie the score.
Junior Liz Larson put Buffalo Grove ahead 61-59 with :58 left, but Wayer hit :10 later to forge yet another tie. Buffalo Grove`s Nicole McBean missed with :35 left, and Winski`s shot at the buzzer was short, sending the game into OT.
”I felt really good going into overtime,” said Dineen. ”I said to the kids: `Let`s play hard. It`s a three-minute game. We can do it. We`ve done it before.` ”
Ronnie Marmitt paced Hoffman Estates with 18 before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Lisa Caraballo added 16 and Winski 15.
