Gritt's 3 lifts Hersey past New Trier

With 27 seconds left, it was amazing enough Hersey's girls basketball team even had a chance to win the game.

The Huskies had trailed state-ranked New Trier (No. 3 team in Class 4A) by 19 points at 32-13 late in the first half.

But then came the incredible ending.

Hersey junior Claire Gritt, who earlier in the game scored her 1,000th point, first had her shot blocked by Trevians 6-foot-3 all-state senior center Jeannie Boehm, who gained possession.

But with 12 seconds left, the Trevians missed the front end of the bonus, and the Huskies had new life.

They raced down court and Gina Miklasz ended up taking a pass from Kelly Weyhrich on the north baseline extended west. Miklasz raced east along the baseline, the spotted Gritt standing alone at the 3-point line.

Miklasz leaped over defenders and threw a strike to Gritt, who calmly sank the 3-pointer that gave No. 9-ranked Hersey a 48-46 lead with 3.2 seconds left. That would stand as the final score of the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase contest at Fremd High School in Palatine.

But there was still plenty of drama left,

New Trier inbounded the ball, and Boehm dribbled to near half court. She launched a 3-pointer that banked in.

However, the Trevians had called for a timeout before the ball left her hands so the basket was waved off. New Trier had to take the ball out of bounds near halfcourt with 1.3 seconds left.

The Trevians' inbounds pass was picked off by Weyhrich, who dribbled a few steps as the buzzer sounded to end one of Hersey's biggest comeback wins in school history.

"They broke our hearts last year," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley, referring to the Trevians' 42-39 win at Hersey when Kathryn Pedi hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Down 32-13 late in the second quarter on Saturday, Fendley called a timeout.

"I hate calling them in the first half," she said. "But when you're down by 19 points, well ...

"We just turned up the defensive pressure and we started to get a few more turnovers (NT ended up with 20)."

The Huskies were able to cut the deficit to 32-17 at intermission, then kept charging in the second half.

They finally got their first lead when Erin McGrath received an inbounds pass from Gritt and made a layup for a 41-40 lead with 3:50 left in the game.

"The biggest thing is that we did not get discouraged when were down against a team like New Trier, which had not lost to an Illinois team since Fremd last year," Fendley said.

"Our team just never stops playing the whole game," Gritt said. "We knew we had to keep pressuring the ball and we'd get back into the game."

And Gritt's game-winner was a perfect example of not giving up after she had shot her blocked just 12 seconds earlier.

"We have someone driving the baseline (like Miklasz) a lot and then they kick it out," Gritt said. "She just did a great job. It was fun."

"I knew I wasn't going to get a shot down there (baseline) so I was looking for an open teammate and I knew I would find one," Miklasz said. "As soon as I spotted Claire, I threw it to her."

And Gritt threw it home for the 1,005th point of her three-year varsity career.

"It was the most exciting game I've played in high school," Miklasz said. "It was crazy."

Gritt finished with a game-high 15 points.

"Claire didn't have one of her best shooting games," Fendley said. "But she just does what it takes to win.

"We want the ball in her hands. She's the kind of kid who is tough enough to take the shot and accept whether she hits or misses it."

Hersey trailed 39-27 going into the final period.

McGrath scored all 7 of her points in the final eight minutes.

"Erin just gets herself in the right spot to score," Fendley said.

Miklasz's big assist for the game-winner was a team-high fifth. Weyhrich finished with 4 along with 6 points, 5 steals, and 5 rebounds.

Senior Maggie Berigan, who played solid defense on Boehm, added 10 points for Hersey while Carly Cooper and Claire Niemczak each had key buckets to start the second-quarter rally.

"Maggie was really tough in the paint," Fendley said. "And Kelly's (Weyhrich) help defense was outstanding."

Boehm led the Trevians (15-3, all losses to in Arizona) with 18 points while Autumn Kalis had 13 and Pedi 12. Each had three 3-pointers.

"We had a lack of energy and aggression in the second half," Boehm said. "We'll take this and learn from it. It was definitely a tough loss."

"We didn't take care of the basketball and got very passive," said Trevians coach Teri Rodgers, who like Fendley was a Daily Herald all-area guard in the 1980s (Rodgers at Libertyville and Fendley at Rolling Meadows).

"Give Hersey all the credit. They stuck with it when they got down. You've got to hand it to them."

Morgan Park 61, Fremd 57: Morgan Park, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, improved to 15-1 with the victory in the Chicagoland Invitational Classic at Fremd.

The Mustangs led 25-19 at half thanks to a 3-pointer at the buzzer by senior guard Deja Cage, who scored a game-high 22 points.

Fremd, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, was led by Brianna Lewis (21 points), Bryana Hopkins (12) and Hayley Williams (10), who had three 3-pointers.

Grace Tworek (6 points) led the Vikes with 9 rebounds and Hopkins pulled down 8.

"They are every good team," said Fremd coach Dave Yates of the Mustangs. "We obviously had trouble defending them one-on-one. When we went to a zone, we got back into the game. We just needed to make that one more play. Credit them, though, they stopped us from doing it."

A 6-foot floater with 54 second left pulled Fremd to within 55-53 but that's as close as the Vikes got.

Also reaching double figures for Morgan Park were Cachet Johnson (15) and Destiny Harden (11).

"Fremd is really good team," said Morgan park coach Kedonica Taylor. "They have a height and they were really aggressive in the second half.

"Down the stretch we made a few mental mistakes. We've got to be more disciplined."

Fremd is now 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the MSL West with games against Barrington and Schaumburg this week.

"We need games like this," Yates said. "We need to be pushed like this and they pushed us. We learn a lot from these kind of games. That's why we play them."

Schaumburg 64, Hoffman Estates 57: Laura O'Connell struck for a game-high 24 points and Mallory Gerber added 20 as Schaumburg raised its record to 4-0 in the MSL West, a half-game ahead of Fremd (3-0).

Bowens added 12 for the Saxons who are 11-6 overall.

Monraia Wilson (20 points), Erin Hanson (17) and Tayler Williams (6) each hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Hawks (8-10, 1-3), who cut an 18-point deficit to 6 points with 1:30 left in the game. Jennifer Nailor added 8 points for Hoffman.

Conant 40, Palatine 38: The host Cougars (7-10, 1-3) didn't convert a field goal in the final quarter but got just enough production at the foul line to net a Mid-Suburban West victory.

The Cougars made 5 of their 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Michelle Benson made both of hers and finished with a team-high 15 points. Sophomore guard Cate Fitzgerald made three 3s and finished with 10 points for Conant.

Palatine (7-11, 0-4) got a big effort from senior forward Ashley Shapiro, who scored a career-high 21 points.

Wheeling 40, Prospect 36: The visiting Wildcats (8-10, 1-3) managed to shut out host Prospect in the first quarter and then withstood the Knights' comeback effort in MSL East play.

Junior forward Melissa Claver scored a game-high 15 points for Wheeling, and junior guard/forward Shannon Kennedy had 10, including a pair of 3s. Nansy Velev scored 6 of her 8 points in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats.

Sophomore Margherite Pettenuzzo had a pair of 3s and scored a team-best 11 points for the Knights (7-12, 1-3) and classmate Emily Frasco scored 10 points.