Senior duo sparks Stagg surge past Shepard
The on-court chemistry between Laila Barakat and Gail Korbitz is apparent to anyone watching the Stagg girls basketball team. Call it a benefit of having played together since the first grade.
The interplay between the two for the Chargers may seem troublesome for opposing coaches to figure out, but if you ask Barakat and Korbitz, it’s quite simple.
“I just know where she is going to be,” Barakat said of Korbitz. “And she knows where I throw it.”
Said Korbitz: “We don’t even have to talk sometimes. We just know.”
Their ability to constantly find each other on the court paid huge dividends Monday night, specifically during a 20-4 surge in the second quarter that helped secure a 57-43 victory over Shepard.
Things weren’t easy for Stagg (4-2) early on as a tight defensive performance by Shepard (1-4) kept the scoring to a minimum in the first quarter.
But Korbitz was still able to find her way to the basket, pouring in nine of her 18 points during the opening eight minutes.
The ability of the 6-foot-1 senior forward to contribute early and often was hardly a surprise for the Chargers.
“She’s doing it all right now,” Stagg coach Bill Turner said. “She’s just been outstanding on both ends of the floor for us. Scoring, defense, handling the ball. I can’t say enough about her.”
Korbitz led the way for Stagg in the first quarter, but she and Barakat combined to break the game open in the second.
A steal and putback on an offensive rebound by Korbitz forced an 18-18 tie. A few plays later, Barakat found her behind the arc for a 3-pointer. On the very next possession, Barakat saw Korbitz uncovered underneath and darted a pass down low for an easy layup.
Barakat, who finished with 11 points, hit a 3-pointer later in the second quarter and helped Stagg go into halftime with a 38-22 lead.
In the second half, Shepard was determined to make life more difficult for the Chargers’ dynamic duo, however.
Led by senior guard Gianna Spain, the Astros opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run. Spain finished with 14 points, but the effort against Barakat and Korbitz on the other end of the court helped stifle a once-hot Stagg offense.
Barakat and Korbitz combined to score only four points in the second half, with Shepard forcing both into turnovers and missed shots down the stretch.
“That was our game plan in the first half,” Shepard coach Rick Gamino said. “It didn’t go as planned. I think we did a better job of recognizing our help defense and just stepped it up a little bit.
“Our girls came back out and we battled. Just came up a little short near the end.”
Yet, even when Shepard’s defense kept Korbitz’s shots from falling in the second half, her teammates kept feeding her the ball.
That level of trust certainly wasn’t lost on her afterward.
“Honestly, it means everything,” Korbitz said. “That’s the most important part of the game. Communication, working together and feeding it to each other. It really hypes you up and gets you going.”
Monday’s victory was crucial for Stagg, which was coming off two straight losses in last week’s Hinsdale South Tournament.
The Chargers prevented that skid from dragging into the nonconference schedule, primarily through the senior duo of Barakat and Korbitz refusing to let a strong defensive effort deter them from what works best.
“We just pulled through at the end,” Barakat said. “That’s what got us the ‘dub’ today.”