Hersey's first-round success continues at Montini

After winning 17 straight first-round games at the Wheaton North Tournament, Hersey's girls basketball team introduced itself to the seventh annual Montini Christmas Tournament with the same routine on Saturday in Lombard.

The No. 4 seeded Huskies (11-1) posted a convincing 57-34 victory over No. 13 Marian Catholic (7-5) at the highly competitive 16-team tourney and will face No. 5 Huntley (12-0) in Monday's 3 p.m. quarterfinal.

You can put an exclamation point on the Huskies' first-half defense which held the 2013 state champion Spartans to 1 point until the 3:38 mark of the second quarter.

When senior Janae Poisson (team-high 10 points) scored Marian's first basket on a 16-foot fadeaway jumper, Hersey led 24-3.

"She's a good player," said Hersey junior guard Gina Miklasz (10 points, 3 steals) of the Northern Illinois recruit who scored 37 points vs. Rich East on Dec 14. "But we did a really good job on defense. We did all the little things and rebounding really helped us."

Top rebounder and scorer for the Huskies was junior Claire Gritt with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Carly Cooper grabbed 8 rebounds. Classmate Kelly Weyhrich handed out 8 assists with her 7 points.

"They're a very solid team, very balanced," said Marian Catholic coach Dan Murray, who led the Spartans (the No. 13 seed at Montini) to third place in the Class AA finals two years ago in his first season. "They are mature and have a lot of talent.

"I don't believe we played a solid game. We are youthful and are making mistakes. But by no means am I taking anything away from Hersey. They controlled the game start to finish and there is a reason they are 11-1. That's a quality team."

Huskies senior forward Maggie Berrigan finished strong, scoring all 11 of her points in the second half, including 9 in the fourth period.

"Maggie had a good second half, especially the fourth quarter when we started looking for her," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley, who won her 364th career game in 18 seasons.

Hersey had not played since its only loss of the season at Buffalo Grove (55-52) on Dec. 18.

"It was so hard to sit on a loss for eight days," Fendley said. "But we were grateful for the holiday to provide a distraction. We were hoping to get that bitter taste out of our mouths."

They did it be getting tough on defense.

Although Hersey got off to a slow start offensively (6 points in the first five minutes on a 3-pointer by Weyhrich, 12-footer by Cooper and free throw by Miklasz), the defense took the pressure off.

"We wanted to focus on defense," Berigan said. "Coach (assistant Julia) Barthel said 'Let's play defense to get back to winning after that loss.' And I'm proud that we did."

And Miklasz' defense on Poisson certainly didn't hurt.

"We matched up with them man-to-man the whole game," Fendley said. "We knew that girl (Poisson) scored 37 points earlier this season. Gina (Miklasz) is so tough, both physically and mentally. She was up to the task. She has been so consistent all season."

Now the Huskies will prepare for the quarterfinal match against Huntley - a team the Huskies met this summer at Montini.

As part of a tri meet, the two teams met in the Montini field house toward the west end of the building. Hersey defeated Huntley and lost to Montini that day.

"We have to come ready to play," Miklasz said about the quarterfinal. "It's a new team for us, a new day and we've got to play like they're the best team we'll face."

"We are excited to play them at full strength," said Berigan, who missed the game in the summer. "I think our bench is one of the best in the area. We are excited to have the chance to play them and try to win the tournament."

Fendley was able to play 13 girls. Nine scored, including Delaney Parker and Susan Lindstrom who each hit 3-pointers. Claire Niemczyk added 6 points and Erin McGrath had a basket in the first quarter.

"Getting a win right back after our first loss was nice," Miklasz added. "We all rely on each other and we trust each other."

The Huskies will try for two in a row on Monday.

"It's going to be a really tough game," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "The quality of depth in this tournament is unbelievable this year."