Furious finish favors Fremd
If anyone deserves a break, it’s Fremd’s girls basketball team.
Despite playing 11 games in the last 15 days, the Vikings hardly gave a break to any of their opponents.
Fremd capped the busy schedule on Saturday by finishing fifth in an elite Christmas tournament hosted by Montini High School in Lombard.
After jumping out to a 15-6 lead, then rallying from a 25-21 deficit, Fremd got past Romeoville 40-39 to improve its record to 15-4 heading into the 2013 portion of its schedule.
Saturday’s game in Lombard went back and forth until junior Hannah Labarge hit a 3-pointer that gave the Vikes a 34-31 lead.
“It was not a thing of perfection, but we gutted one out on the last day,” said Fremd coach Dave Yates. “Romeoville (13-3) is a very good team and we knew we would get a serious challenge from them. They are well coached and a senior laden group who play very well together.”
Senior guard Ashley McConnell led the Vikings (16-4) with 14 points while classmate Bernie Williams added 12.
“We made the plays when we needed and played some very solid defense down the stretch,” Yates added. “I thought Erica Simios and Shannon Wittel did a nice job on Kiera Currie (a Bolingbrook transfer who had 33 points in an earlier game in the tournament). “
Williams scored 8 of the game’s first 10 points.
“Bernie gave us a huge lift to start the game,” said Yates, who was without two starters (ankle injuries to Haley Gorecki and Marilyn Lortz). “I am very proud of this group. To go 3-1 in a tournament that is easily the best in the state is an accomplishment. To do it without two starters says even more. We are excited for some time off and a chance to get back to full strength.
It was Fremd’s first appearance in the Montini Tournament.
“We were very excited to be a part of a tournament of this caliber.” Yates said. “The atmosphere was unbelievable, the crowds were awesome, and the games were phenomenal. We feel like we were tested every day by teams that we don’t typically play. Coach (Jason) Nichols has done a wonderful job.”
Palatine 43, Lake Forest 40: Despite losing it leading scorer Nia Pappas (ankle), Palatine (16-4) went 4-1 to take second place in the Blue devil Classic at Warren High School.
Senior McKenzie Wiedemann (17 points, 6 steals, 1 assist) led the Pirates while Monica Masini added 7 with 12 rebounds. Juniors Erin Mayer and Morgan Radtke each added 6 points.
“The girls played well, “ said Pirates assistant coach Bill LePage. “We just had a few too many turnovers, but everything else was good. Wew’ve still got a lot of stuff to work on. We are a good team but we could become a great team if we tie up the loose ends. We hope we can do that in the new year.”
Christian Liberty 56, Aldron Hebron 43: The Chargers (11-3) took first place (2-1 record) in the Alden Hebron Holiday Classic Tournament due to tournament rules (least defensive points allowed).
Despite suffering a bruised nose, junior guard Megan Sullivan (3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots) led the Chargers with a career-high 26 points (two 3-pointers and 12-of-15 free throws).
Sophomore guard Jessica Moriarty (4 assists, 5 rebounds) added 19 points and hit all three 3-pointers that she attempted. Also scoring for the Chargers were junior center Shelbi Hernadez (8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) and sophomore guard Jenn West (3).
Barrington 51, Mother McAuley 50: Senior Alexa Resch (16 points, 7 rebounds), Megan Talbot (9 points, 10 rebounds), Angie Kirchoff (7 points, 5 assists) and Maddie Bartz (7 points) were top scorers for Barrington (12-6) which took home fifth place in the prestigious Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.
“I was very proud of the kids’ play throughout the tournament,” said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. “To go 3-1 and lose to Evanston (15-0 at the time) by 4, we did a lot of good things.”
Barreiro knows her team has a lot of work to do.
“But I thought overall as a team we played well and we stayed focus,” the coach added. “Alexa Resch had another great game and provided some strong leadership for us. Angie Kirchoff had two real solid games the last two days.”
What Barreiro liked best was the joint effort.
“It wasn’t just one or two kids,” she said. “We were successful as a team. Alexa had a fabulous tournament but her teammates around her were all doing a great job.”
Prospect 80, Resurrection 75 (OT): Prospect put up season-high 80 points, enough to win the consolation championship of the Dundee Crown Charger Classic.
Coach Ashley Graham’s Knights (10-7) were led in their third straight win by Taylor Will (24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), Michele Molini (17 points, 3 3-pointers), Catherine Sherwood (13 points, 7 rebounds), Trisha Benson (12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists) and Adriane Falagario (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists).
The Knights’ previous most points came in a 68-53 win over Hoffman Estates.
St. Viator 66, Maine East 59: All-tourney selections Erin Fabbri (20 points) and Michelle Presslak (17) helped lead the Lions to the title of their own Snowflake Tournament with a 5-0 record.
Coach Christina Jost’s Lions are now 11-8 overall.
Fabbri was 10-of-13 from free throw line and also collected 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals before being named MVP of the tourney.
Presslak also had 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist while Jennie Horstmann added 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.
St. Viator was nursing a 56-54 lead when Horstmann hit a clutch 3-pointer from the corner for a 59-54 with under two minutes to play.
Leyden 52, Elmwood Park 36: Alondra Chavarria scored 15 points to lead the Eagles to victory in the final round of the St. Viator Snowflake Tournament. Leyden’s Victoria Galizia was named to the all-tourney team.
Hinsdale Central 59, Hersey 53: Morgan Harris (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists), Casey Weyhrich (13 points), Erica Hill (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Meg Cerniglia (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) were top scorers for the Huskies (8-8) in their final game of the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North.
Schaumburg 64, Waubonsie Valley 29: Riley Williams (17 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Amanda Kelly (16 points, 5 steals, 3 assists) led the Saxons (7-9) in their final game of the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North. Jada Blackwell added 13 points and 3 rebounds for the winners.
Bartlett 57, Maine West 46: Bartlett(10-9) trailed 25-17 at halftime but battled back to take a 38-37 lead after 3 quarters.
Maine West (6-10) got to within 48-46 on 2 free throws from Brittany Collins with 1:32 to play.
“Bartlett wanted the game more than we did,” said Maine West coach Derril Kipp. “We didn’t execute very well. They outrebounded us and they got to the free-throw line.”
Brittany Collins led the Warriors (6-11) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ashley Collins and Alexia Prosperi each had 9 points and Erin Ross dished out 8 assists.
Buffalo Grove 50, Dundee-Crown 34: Senior Bailey North scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and had 8 rebounds to lead the Bison (5-11) on the final day of the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic. BG finished 2-2 in the tournament.
“We played really well defensively,” said BG coach Steve Kolodziej. “We contested a lot of shots and didn’t give them a lot of open looks. We did some things well offensively and we’re just looking to develop some depth.
“We’re really happy coming out of here 2-2. That’s some good momentum for us. We need to get healthy now. Bailey is just about 80-85 percent with her ankle and Amanda Salzman has an ankle bothering her.”
Salzman did have 8 assists for the Bison, while Julie Jambrone added 10 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Maddie Welter hit 3 of BG’s 6 3-pointers.
Huntley 43, Conant 39: The Red Raiders avenged a loss to Conant earlier in the Mundelein Mustangs Holiday Tournament. Ali Andrews led Huntley (13-3) with 20 points. She and Sam Andrews were named to the all-tournament team.
Lexi Zades (14 points), Haley Anderson (11 points) and Nireet Dhillon (8) led the Cougars (6-11) who were represented on the all-tourney team by Katie Lomas.
Mundelein 56, Hoffman Estates 53 (2 OT): All-tourney selection Destinee Young scored 25 points with 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for Hoffman (9-5) which went 1-3 in the Mundelein Mustangs Holiday Tournament.
Senior forward/guard Becca Stoczynski added 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists 2 steals while junior guard Andrea Wolinski had 9 rebounds and 5 points.