BARRINGTON — On any given night, Barrington girls basketball coach Babbi Barreiro knows her team can hold its own against just about anyone.
And with the season now past the midway point, her players’ confidence continues to grow.
Despite losing 60-46 to a loaded Fremd squad (15-2 overall, 4-0 MSL West to start the week) Saturday night, the Fillies (14-4, 3-1) came away from the experience feeling better about themselves.
“I thought we were in the game the entire time,” Barreiro said. “I don’t think they [Fremd] ever felt comfortable.”
“Any time you play Barrington, especially at their place, you’re in for a battle,” Fremd coach David Yates concurred.
The Fillies fell behind by 18 in the third quarter to the Vikings, then rallied to cut the deficit to single digits. In the fourth quarter, Fremd’s lead ballooned to 18 again. Barrington rallied a second time to cut that margin to nine with under three minutes to play.
“We never quit,” Barreiro said. “I was real proud of our kids’ effort. We had a lot of turnovers though that were — quite frankly — unforced. If we clean those things up, we’re right there with them.
“Angie Kirchoff [game-high 20 points] and Megan Talbot [16 points, 19 rebounds] had phenomenal games. The gutsiness of those two players and our whole team when things didn’t go our way … it says a lot about these kids. They all play hard and never give up, that’s what matters. Sometimes you’re gonna get the win and sometimes you’re not.”
The fact that Talbot is just a sophomore with the potential to get D-I offers makes the Fillies’ future look even brighter. Talbot politely declined to discuss what schools have contacted her, though she revealed there have been some.
“It’s nice, but I’ve got plenty of time to worry about that,” Talbot said. “Right now, I’m focused on being part of this wonderful group and helping our team win.”
She then praised Barreiro for her positivity on the sidelines.
“Babbi is always being positive toward us — always,” Talbot said. “It gives us tremendous confidence and it keeps our spirits up when things aren’t going so well. I think that’s a big reason why we were able to keep our composure and fight back against Fremd and in other tough spots we’ve been in this season.
“In games like that, it’s important for us to show our toughness as a team. And we’ve been doing that lately. I know we lost by 14 points to Fremd. But it felt close out there. Really close.”
Barrington’s other three losses this season have been by a combined eight points. They fell by two to Huntley, by two to Mother McAuley and by four to Stevenson.
The Fillies will get a shot at redemption when they travel to Fremd on Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. for a rematch against the Vikings. The game could wind up having division-title implications.
“We keep learning and keep getting better each game,” Barreiro said. “We want to be dangerous at the end of the season.”
