BG Girls Stay With Power Cary-Grove for One Half

Now this is just what a substitute is supposed to do. Enter the game and make a few steals and grab some rebounds.

Playing the role of super sub on Saturday afternoon in Cary was senior Alanna Zawlocki.

Even though she didn't start the game against 17-game winner Cary-Grove, she still had six rebounds by halftime. And the underdog Bison were in the thick of things trailing 24-23.

"Alanna gives us so much energy off the bench,'' said Buffalo Grove girls basketball coach Pat Dudle. "She's really a spark on the defensive end."

Cary, and its star Claire Jakubicek (24 points), turned up the pressure in the second half and stopped the Bison 58-35 in this nonconference game.

"Jakubicek is the complete package,'' Dudle said. "I'm glad she's a senior."

The Bison (8-12) didn't look over matched in the first half. On an outside shot from KC Dunne (12 points), Buffalo Grove knotted this game up at 21-21 with less than three minutes to play before halftime.

"We really battled in the first half,'' Dudle said. "We feel if our kids get some good competition it will make us tougher for the playoffs."

Foul trouble did kick in during the second half. Dunne picked up her third foul and Bailey North notched her fourth foul early in the third quarter. Dunne and Zawlocki did the bulk of the scoring in the third quarter. Zawlocki had four of her six points in this quarter. Dunne added a three-point play late in the quarter. The Bison trailed 41-32 heading to the final quarter.

"They really stymied us with their defense,'' he said. "But again, we had double-digit turnovers. And that's something we control. Cary-Grove is the real deal but we didn't play consistent basketball."

Andrea DiPrima landed her first shot from three-point range and finished with five points. Point guard Emily Cho checked in with four points.

Buffalo Grove travels to neighbor on Tuesday night.