Fremd gets defensive against Johnsburg

Fremd's girls basketball players will tell you defense is what they take pride in the most.

Not too often do teams play it like the Vikings did in the third quarter on Monday.

Fremd blanked Johnsburg 9-0 to extend a 22-19 halftime edge to 31-19 and the Vikings never looked back in a 45-27 triumph in the opening round of the Charger Classic at Dundee Crown High School.

The Vikings (12-2) advance to today's 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal to face Rockton-Hononegah (13-2).

Johnsburg didn't get its first second-half point until standout guard and Iowa recruit Melissa Dixon hit a free throw with 6:02 left in the game.

Fremd didn't give up its first basket until Dixon threw a nifty pass to junior center Ashley Schuld for a layup with 4:40 left in the game.

By then, the Vikings had built a 34-22 lead.

“Unbelievable team defense,” said Fremd senior guard Bridget Kubis of the Vikings holding Johnsburg to 8 points in the half.

Kubis held Dixon (26 ppg) to 15 points, including a 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

“We pride ourselves in our team defense,” Kubis said of the Vikings' man-to-man which has held opponents to 33 or less points five times this season. “Our coaches did a great job scouting them. The help defense was always there.”

Helping out on the offensive end for Fremd were junior Jessi Wiedemann (13 points, two 3-pointers), sophomore Ashley McConnell (7 points), senior Jaimie Groot (6 points, 2 rebounds) and senior Megan Gray (6 points, 3 rebounds).

Kubis and Bernie Williams each added 5 points.

Williams hit 2 free throws to put Fremd ahead 16-8 after one quarter, then she produced a 3-point play that gave Fremd a 19-14 edge with 1:15 left in the half.

Dixon and Wiedemann proceeded to trade 3-point baskets and Susan Conroy scored on a driving layup with 17 seconds left to bring the Skyhawks to within 3 at half.

“Bernie (Williams) gave us huge lift in the first half,” said Fremd coach Dave Yates. “She is a sophomore and she is going to be a big player for us.”

The Skyhawks' big player, Dixon, was 6-for-16 from the floor.

“Kudos to Bridget Kubis,” said Fremd coach Dave Yates. “She was voted all-conference last season and that's because she could stick to anyone defensively. Bridget stuck on her (Dixon) and as a group we stepped up on her, too.

“We've had a lot of good defensive halves so it's not a surprise to us.”

After Dixon, the next highest scorers for Johnsburg had 4 points.

“We played well defensively but our shots were not dropping,” Dixon said. “It's always frustrating when you are being face-guarded but we need to step up offensively. They played good defense but we didn't step up.”