Hersey slows down Rolling Meadows
The Rolling Meadows girls basketball team has been on a roll, and even Hersey coach Mary Fendley has enjoyed the success of her conference rival.
“I'm a Rolling Meadows grad so I couldn't help but think it's a nice turnaround for the program,” she said. “They have a good record and are having a nice season. But I'm all Hersey now. I'm always motivated for our team to do well when I come here.”
The Huskies were plenty motivated in Friday's 42-36 Mid-Suburban East first-place showdown battle with the Mustangs.
Hersey's motivation showed in the first six minutes when it pulled away 14-5.
But the Mustangs (9-2, 2-1) showed why they're off to their best start in years, climbing all the way back and taking a 22-20 lead when junior Ann Marie Lynch sank a 3-pointer to start the second half.
Hersey all-stater Megan Rogowski (team-high 18 points) answered with a 3-pointer to give the visitors the lead right back at 23-22.
Meadows kept it close, tying the game at 33-33 on freshman Jennifer Vliet's driving bank shot with 4:07 left in the game.
But the Huskies (7-3, 3-0) took control with a 7-0 run.
After Rogowski's first free throw gave the Huskies the lead for good, Stephanie Mueller rebounded the second attempt and swung up a bank shot high off the glass for a 36-33 lead with 2:28 left.
“That was a big rebound and I don't know how she got that back up and made it,” Fendley said. “We said they were faster than us, so we had to take advantage of our strengths. We rebounded well.”
Junior guard Jen Hall made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:45 to help the Huskies seal the verdict and take sole possession of first place.
“I love being in that position,” Hall said of her pressure free throws. “I‘ve been there so many times. Coach told us our experience would be a key.”
“Those were clutch free throws by Jen and I thought her ballhandling was pretty good the whole game against some good defenders,” Fendley said. “I thought we defended their back screens well. Maggie (Hogen) and Eileen (Zydek, who had 2 assists) did a real nice job defending their posts.”
Hogen ended up with 11 rebounds and Mueller 10.
Hogen blocked 2 shots within 20 seconds in the third quarter and inbetween hit a 12-footer for a 25-22 lead. “Maggie's defense was fantastic,” Fendley added.
Lynch and Vliet led Meadows with 10 points apiece.
“I'm not sure if these girls were ready for the spotlight pressure,” said Meadows coach Todd Hatfield. “I guess we'll find out next week after we're done with the Mundelein tournament. We'll be facing a lot of heavy hitters.
“The kids did respond to come back and tie it at 33. The bottom line is that we passed the ball more to the wall and to the people in orange. When you have more turnovers than shot attempts, it's tough to win.”
Hersey made only 8 turnovers.
“If you turn the ball over and give up offensive rebounds you don't deserve to win,” Hatfield added. “There's nowhere to hide now. A week from now, we'll find out more about ourselves. Do these girls want the spotlight or do they want to hide?”
The Mustangs fans weren't hiding.
“Our fans were great tonight,” Hatfield said.
The game wasn't so bad either.