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Sports

Buffalo Grove Nips Warren in Regional Opener

Blue Devils miss a shot to win it at the buzzer; the Bison will play Fremd for regional title.

girls basketball coach Pat Dudle actually saw Warren beat NSC power late in the season. So he and his staff were well versed in what to expect from the Blue Devils when Warren visited Tuesday night for an IHSA Class 4A regional contest.

And when Lexi Leneau's jump shot fell short in the final seconds, the Bison (17-14) knew they had dodged sudden elimination in the playoffs. BG edged the Blue Devils 33-32 and will play Fremd on Thursday night for the regional crown.

KC Dunne landed three three-pointers and led BG with 12 points.

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"It was real tight,'' Dunne said. "We let them back in the game, but we played better team defense late. These are all team wins. It's all about the team."

The visitors from Gurnee opened up quickly and held an 8-2 lead late in the first quarter. That's when the BG three-point attack began to find the range. First, Andrea DiPrima (five points) and then Dunne, and that Warren lead was erased.

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"We've been playing well lately,'' Dudle said. "But Warren's defense rushed us a little."

It looked as if the three-point arsenal would put away Warren for the night. Dunne's third three-pointer gave the Bison a comfortable 28-20 lead halfway through the third quarter. But despite the best efforts of BG center Bailey North, the Bison really had no answer for Warren's 6-foot-3 junior center Jessica Prince (16 points).

"Prince is a ton,'' Dudle admitted.

On a tough rebound and bucket from Alanna Zawlocki, the Bison lead looked safe at 30-24 heading to the fourth quarter. North had the lone BG basket of the fourth quarter as this game became very close.

Emily Georgoulis landed a pair of three-pointers for her six points. Both North and Zawlocki added four points each.

The Bison had a clean sweep of the IHSA three-point shooting contest. DiPrima led all shooters with nine. Georgoulis was next with seven. Also qualifying for another round were Courtney Poders and Becca Appelt.

The Fremd Vikings pulled away from Palatine 41-28 in game one of the evening. Fremd will meet BG at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

"Fremd is a good, strong team,'' Dunne said. "We need to work hard in practice on Wednesday."

Dudle hopes his team shoots a little better on Thursday night.

"Fremd's defense is very aggressive,'' he said.

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