Despite playing on a partially torn ACL, Buffalo Grove senior Maddy Callahan scored 24 points — including six 3-pointers — to lead the No. 5-seeded Bison to a 59-55 victory over the No. 4 Stevenson girls basketball team in the Class 4A Carmel Regional championship Friday.
Callahan was 9-for-12 from the field, scoring all of her points in the first three quarters.
“It feels great,” Callahan said with a big smile. “It just feels even better since it’s my senior year. I’m just so happy right now. I’m so proud of my team.”
“Big-time players make big-time plays,” Buffalo Grove coach Stephen Kolodziej said of his sharpshooter. “She shows up when we need her. There’s no doubt. She’s always done that her entire career.”
Buffalo Grove senior Maddie Welter opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Bison a 52-49 lead. They stretched the lead to 56-49 with 3:16 remaining, as Stevenson (26-5) missed its first nine shots of the quarter.
But the Patriots fought back. Freshman Skylar Blackstock converted a three-point play, and junior Janine Fajardo sank a 3-pointer to bring Stevenson to within 56-55 with 2:40 remaining. Buffalo Grove junior Sammy Stejskal converted on one of two free throw attempts seconds later to give her team a 57-55 lead.
Stevenson missed three field goals and a free throw, while committing two turnovers in the final two minutes. Senior Bri Kolbus hit two free throws in the final 15 seconds to put the game away.
“We continued to battle. Continued to grind and found a way to win the basketball game,” said Kolodziej, whose team improved to 21-10. “It comes down to senior leadership and it comes down to believing.”
Welter had 13 points and a game-high five steals, while Stejskal and Kolbus each scored eight points. Buffalo Grove sank 10 3-pointers.
“When my shots weren’t falling I figured that I had to beef up my defense to help our team win,” Welter said.
Stevenson coach Tom Dineen, who guided Buffalo Grove for 29 seasons and won a state championship with the Bison in 2000, lamented his team’s inability to score late.
“It was a very good 4-5 ballgame,” Dineen said. “I thought we missed some easy ones. Too many easy ones. We battled, but we got beat by a good team.”
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Senior Taylor Buford scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Stevenson before fouling out in the final minute. Senior Sophia Way and sophomore Ashley Richardson each had 10 points.
“We had a heck of a season. Win 26 games, you can’t take that away from us,” Dineen said.
Buffalo Grove, which won its second straight regional, will face top-seeded Fremd in the Palatine Sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Monday. Fremd ousted the Bison last year in the sectional semis.
Callahan will be undergoing surgery after the season ends.
“I couldn’t give up my senior year. It would be too hard for me,” said Callahan, who incurred the injury last summer. “It’s been crazy. Sometimes my knee joint pops out. But overall I wouldn’t change anything. I would play with the pain again if it happens.”
Mark Perlman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.