Girls Basketball: Maine South drops pair to tough foes
BY MATT HARNESS mharness@pioneerlocal.com January 28, 2012 9:14PM
Lake Zurich, IL 1/28/12 Trinity and Maine South faced off in Lake Zuirch's Swet 16 girl's basketball tournament. With the help of teammate Maine South's Kaitlyn Mullarkey (21), Maine South's Nina Duric (22) grabs a defensive rebound. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
standings
CSL South
Niles West 6-2 18-8
Maine South 5-3 21-6
Glenbrook S. 5-3 19-5
Evanston 4-4 13-10
New Trier 4-4 17-8
Waukegan 0-8 2-18
CSL North
Niles North 7-1 15-10
Maine West 7-1 11-15
Glenbrook N. 5-3 16-6
Highland Park 3-5 11-11
Deerfield 2-6 5-19
Maine East 0-8 3-17
(Records through Sunday)
Article Extras
Updated: March 3, 2012 8:19AM
Maybe no team deserves a break as much as Maine South.
After playing three ranked Chicago-area teams in less than 24 hours, the Hawks will treasure a few days off from competition.
Not that they don’t want to get back and prove themselves again.
But Maine South coach Mark Smith knows his girls need some time to rest before Friday’s CSL South contest against No. 19 Glenbrook South, which is tied with the Hawks for second in the conference at 5-3, one game behind Niles West.
After losing to the Wolves on a buzzer-beater Friday, Maine South played the toughest two-game schedule Saturday at the Sweet 16 tournament. The Hawks paid for it with two losses to top-five teams.
But the No. 8-ranked Hawks hung tough in both, losing to No. 3 Trinity 44-30 in the afternoon and No. 4 Marist 54-41 in the evening at Lake Zurich.
Jacqui Grant scored 11 points against Trinity without a field goal in the first three quarters. Mackenzie Duffy led the way in the loss to Marist with 14 points. Nina Duric added 12 points against the Redhawks.
Michelle Maher, who’s been battling a left knee injury, was held scoreless against Trinity, but the Western Illinois-bound senior guard bounced back with nine against Marist.
“No matter the results, this is going to make us a better basketball team having gone through this experience,” said Smith, whose club lost for the fifth time in six games to drop to 21-6 overall.
The Hawks do need some help to capture another conference championship. They must beat the Titans and Waukegan for the second time this season and hope the Wolves lose at least one game down the stretch. Niles West plays Evanston and Glenbrook South in its final two conference contests.
“I said at the beginning of the year that three losses would win the championship,” Smith said. “It’s so difficult to win on the road in this league, and it’s been extraordinarily tough this season.”
Area coaches rewarded the Hawks for their challenging schedule and winning ways last week with the No. 1 seed at the New Trier Sectional. It was the second season in a row Maine South earned the top seed in the sectional. The Hawks finished third in the state last season.
“We reiterate to the kids that this stretch will prepare them for the playoffs,” Smith said. “It’s hard because they deserved better Friday for the way the fought back, but I think they know they are a better team for this.”
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