Crosby, Halperin finish strong, but Giants’ upset bid falls short in season ender

A fourth-quarter substitution was a significant moment for Highland Park girls basketball.

Senior Reese Crosby, the Giants leading scorer and a four-year varsity guard, was coming out of her final high-school game.

Crosby played a major role in Highland Park’s revival after a difficult early-2020s’ stretch, when it won one game in two seasons. In her four years, though she missed her sophomore season with an injury, Highland Park totaled 59 wins with no fewer than 12 wins in any season, and it won two league championships (2024, ’25).

The Giants finished 13-13 this season and tied for second in the Central Suburban League North before falling to Barrington 61-49 in an IHSA Class 4A Regional matchup Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Fremd High School.

“It’s been great. This is like a family to me. It’s been amazing,” Crosby said of her time with the Giants. “I think we’ve accomplished a lot here my whole four years, and especially this season. I’m really proud of it all — my performance, my team’s performance.”

Crosby had a frustrating start in the regional, as the Fillies defense locked her up and she got into foul trouble in the first half — though, she did grab 7 first-half rebounds.

Junior teammate Kourtnie Halperin picked up the slack, scoring 9 of her team’s 11 first-half points, as they trailed 18-11 at the break.

But Crosby and company figured some things out to start the final half. Crosby was assertive in scoring 10 third-quarter points to get her team right back in it.

“(Asst. coach Sarah) Holsen told me right before we went on the court to bring the fire, make sure your energy is up,” Crosby said. “I just kind of flipped the switch and came out trying to win.”

Unfortunately, the Fillies had the offensive answers.

Highland Park cut its deficit to 28-26, but Barrington quickly pushed back, regaining control at 38-29 by the end of the quarter. Junior sharpshooter Isla Koertner drained three straight three-pointers to keep Barrington out of harm’s way.

“I thought we had a much better energy in the second half …. (but) we’d score and then go basket for basket and we were in a position where we were chasing,” Giants head coach Jolie Bechtel said. “We’d get a little momentum and then they’d go on a little run. We just didn’t have enough time at the end.”

Highland Park kept up its energy through the fourth quarter and ended up more than tripling their output from the first half (38 to 11).

The Fillies, however, stayed an arm’s length away.

Halperin led the Giants with 21 points, including four three-pointers, while Crosby finished with 16 points (all in the second half) and 8 rebounds. Sophomore Emily Calub added 8 points and senior Leà Wilhelmsen 8 rebounds.

Barrington (12-17) — which plays in a competitive league with ranked Prospect, Fremd and Hersey — produced well-rounded scoring, as Lily Richmond (17 points) led four Fillies in double-digits, and dominated the offensive glass.

“That rebounding definitely was a factor. We’ve struggled with that all season,” Bechtel said. “We’ve had many games where we’ve been out-rebounded, but Barrington did a nice job. We gave them a little better game than they expected … but they are a good team. They are better than their record shows.”

Bechtel added that Crosby had a “really strong finish to her career” and was one of three All-Conference Giants, Halperin and Calub being the other two.

The latter pair, who already have a combined five years of varsity experience, are expected to return along with starting forward Esmae You, a junior, and lead the Giants a year from now.

Highland Park waves goodbye to Crosby, who will continue her basketball career at Regis University (Denver), Wilhelmsen and Lucia Seiden.

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Barrington 12-17, but tough Hersey, Prospect, Fremd and Rolling Meadows.

13-13, 6-4, tied for second

They won just one game in two seasons between 2020-2022.

But a rebound was quick. Bechtel and Highland Park went from one win to 12 in ’22-’23, and then the following season eclipsed the .500 mark (14-11) and won a league title (Central Suburban League North) for the first time in Bechtel’s tenure.

The Giants kept the good times rolling this season, repeating as CSL North champs (9-1 record) while posting a 20-8 overall record, their best in a long time.