Foul trouble, poor free-throw shooting, poor ballhandling, poor defensive rebounding — Buffalo Grove had it all Friday.
The Mid-Suburban League power had something else as well: a victory that solidified its role as one of the favorites for the Class 4A state title.
Less than 20 hours after beating No. 2 Fenwick on Thursday, the Bison came up with a tense 54-52 victory over No. 13 Marshall in the City-Suburban Shootout at Attacks Athletics on the West Side.
The victory for No. 4 Buffalo Grove (18-1) ended what senior Maggie Mocchi said was the most difficult week she and her teammates have faced.
Last Saturday, the Bison fell to Fenwick in overtime in the title game of the Dundee-Crown Holiday Tournament. In a rematch Thursday, they rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 52-47 victory.
Then came Friday.
“Fenwick was an awesome team, and we battled really hard against them last night,” said Mocchi, who led her team with 26 points and six rebounds. “And then tonight, as you could tell, it was a hard game. We pulled through and kept our composure.”
Buffalo Grove, which led 21-20 at halftime, pulled out to a 47-37 lead with 5 minutes 28 seconds left. Marshall (11-6) didn’t believe the game was over.
Led by some ferocious rebounding by Adrienne GodBold (13 boards), the Commandos cut Buffalo Grove’s lead to 51-50 with 38.6 seconds left and GodBold at the foul line after scoring.
But she missed. Late free throws by Mocchi and Katie Lee, who hit two with 19.9 seconds left, were enough to seal the victory. Marshall’s harassing defense limited Allison Mocchi and Ellen Ayoub to a combined eight points, and both fouled out in the last five minutes.
Two free throws by Kim Davis with 1.6 seconds left gave Evanston a 59-58 victory over Bogan. Davis finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildkits (13-6). Krystyna Williams added 13 points. Tenisha Wilson and Lynette Holmes each scored 17 for Bogan (12-5).
Chanel Allen’s three-pointer and Karisma Chapman’s free throw in the final seconds of overtime gave Thornton Fractional North (15-4) a 53-52 victory over Washington. The lone winner from the city was Payton, which beat Gary Roosevelt 41-36.
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asutton@tribune.com
*Read Alan Sutton’s blog “Basketball Joans” at chicagosports.com/sutton
