Fremd goes the extra mile for Florida shootout victory

Fremd girls basketball coach Dave Yates knew his girls would be tested on their winter trip to Florida.

Sure enough, it didn't take long.

In the Vikings' first exam at the Naples Holiday Shootout, they were required to put in a little extra homework.

Fremd survived Louisville Butler High School in overtime 53-51 to improve to 13-0 overall.

Butler, ranked No. 2 in Kentucky, is a four-time state champion.

Fremd advances to the semifinals of its division of the tourney and will face USA Today's No. 3 ranked St. Paul VI (Fairfax, Virginia) at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

"We came here to get challenged," Yates said. "How many tournaments have first-round games where you are playing top-ranked teams in other states?

"Our bracket is loaded with great teams. St. Paul has 6-foot-3, 6-4 and 6-5 post players and Division I guards. We are excited for the challenge."

Fremd fell behind early on Tuesday and trailed 24-16 at the half. "We did not come out strong and we paid the price," Yates said. "I think part of it was traveling and getting adjusted. I think the other part was we have not played a game in well over a week (Dec. 19 vs Conant).

"We didn't finish around the hoop very well and were out of synch. But I thought we played good defense in the first half."

Trailing 32-22 in the third quarter, Fremd received 3-pointers from Amanda McCartney and Brianna Lewis (11 points) that helped cut the lead to 34-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Vikings took the lead late in the fourth.

However, Butler converted a 3-point play with eight seconds left to take 45-43 lead.

With eight seconds left, Lewis drove the length of the floor and flipped a nifty one-handed pass to Bryana Hopkins (team-high 15 points) for a layup to beat the buzzer and force overtime.

The 2015 Illinois Class 4A state runner-up came out strong to start overtime, scoring the first 7 points.

Junior Grace Tworek (14 points) hit 2 free throws and then tossed home a 3-pointer while Hopkins made a layup off a baseline out-of-bounds play for the 7-point lead.

Butler rallied to cut the deficit to 3 before Lauren Glaser tossed in a free throw to make it a 4-point lead.

Butler hit a shot at the buzzer for the final margin of 53-51.

Senior Erin Lenahan chipped in 8 points for Fremd.

"I was very proud of our kids to battle back," Yates said. "We did not play well in the first half and our kids knew it. They stuck with it and figured out a way to win the game when they were not playing their best. Our composure was outstanding."

Hononegah 60, Maine West 46: Maine West (10-6) led 32-25 at half but Hononegah outscored the Warriors 35-14 in the final two quarters of the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic third-round game.

Scoring in double figures for the Warriors were freshman Rachel Kent (17 points, 8 rebounds), senior Jordan Hart (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assist, 2 steals) and sophomore Catherine Johnson (10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists).

Senior Eliza Palarz chipped in 5 points with 7 rebounds and an assist while junior Liz Sanchez had a 3-pointer and assist.

Sophomore point guard Allison Pearson handed out 4 assists and also had a steal.

Dundee-Crown 54, Barrington 51: Illinois State recruit Megan Talbot tossed home a season-high 25 points and collected 11 rebounds in the third day of action at the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.

Senior guard Auri Grayson added 10 points with 5 rebounds while classmate Kelly Katis chipped in 7 points for the Fillies (4-9).

Junior Abigail Elo had 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 points and sophomore Rachel Mori had a pair of steals.