Girls Basketball: Glenbrook South in tight battle for league lead

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Gleview- Colleen McDonagh drives the ball. Girls basketball game: Glenbrook South vs. Evanston.. | Joe Cyganowski ~ For Sun Times Media

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:41AM

A loss to New Trier on Friday may have dropped Glenbrook South out of first place in the CSL South, but with two conference games remaining, the Titans (18-5, 5-3) still control their own destiny in a league that is still very much wide open.

Niles West (6-2 conference) stood in first place, with GBS (5-3) and Maine South (5-3) each a game back. Glenbrook South’s final two games are against Maine South, on Friday, and at home against Niles West on Feb. 10.

“If we win the last two, then we at least tie for conference. It’s still in our hands,” said GBS head coach Steve Weissenstein. “It’s such a competitive conference, and we’ve just beaten each other up. The nonconference records (of CSL South teams) are pretty incredible. The team that finished third in the state last year (Maine South), and returned most of its players, has three losses (in conference). You can just look at that and tell how competitive this league is.”

Or you just could have watched the defensive battle between Glenbrook South and New Trier in Winnetka Friday, when the Trevians pulled out a 31-29 win.

The Titans held the Trevians scoreless for over six minutes in the fourth quarter, as they took a 29-28 lead with a minute remaining.

But New Trier’s Northwestern-bound senior Maggie Lyon (20 points) hit two key free throws down the stretch. Meanwhile, GBS missed a free throw and a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Weissenstein said missed shots cost his team the game, but not the ones the ones in the fourth quarter.

“What killed us was that we had some nice opportunities in the first quarter, and we missed a lot of layups and easy shots,” he said. “I thought that was the key to the game. It wasn’t the (missed) one-and-one (in the fourth), it was the chances we had in the first quarter. We had a chance to create some breathing room, and we didn’t.”

Junior Molly McDonagh led GBS with 10 points, while senior Colleen McDonagh scored eight.

Meanwhile, Titans junior Lindsey Oldshue once again drew praise for her defense on an opposing star. Though Lyon scored 20 points, she managed just one basket in the second half.

“(Lyon) had to work hard for her baskets,” Weissenstein said. “Lindsey certainly doesn’t get any nights off. It seems like everybody she guards (in the CSL) is a Division I player. But she likes it and sees it as a challenge. We tell her that she’s not going to shut these girls down, but just to make them work hard.”

Glenbrook South defeated Lake Forest 62-37 Saturday afternoon in Glenview. Colleen McDonagh had 13 points, Molly McDonagh scored 10, junior Teigan Flaws had nine and junior Katie Dwyer added six.

The Titans led the Scouts 21-18 after one quarter and outscored the visitors 15-0 in the second period.

“Everybody got to play, and we got a nice early lead,” Weissenstein said. “It got the bad taste out of the mouth (from Friday).”

Glenbrook South received the No. 3 seed in the New Trier Sectional for the upcoming IHSA Class 4A playoffs.

The Titans will open Glenbrook South Regional play against No. 14 Lane on Feb. 14. The winner will likely meet No. 5 New Trier for the regional title on Feb. 16.

The Titans will visit a Maine South team that has lost five of its last six games — albeit against quality opposition — at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Hawks defeated the Titans by six points when the teams met in Glenview on Dec. 15.

Glenbrook South then hosts Lincoln Park at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.