Fremd finishes weekend with flourish

When all was said and done, you got the idea Morgan Park didn't exactly encounter the best time to face Fremd's girls basketball team.

"Our game the night before was definitely not one of our strongest," said Vikings senior Grace Tworek about a 39-33 win at Barrington on Friday. "So we made it a goal to come out strong (on Saturday)."

A strong start it was for Fremd, as a 3-pointer and 10-foot bank shot in the lane by Tworek (game-high 25 points) and a 3-pointer from Hayley Williams staked the Vikings to an 8-0 advantage less than three minutes into the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase game in Palatine.

Moments later, a beautiful reverse layup by senior Missy Adrian (4 points) pushed the lead to 10-2 and the Vikes never looked back on their home floor in a 62-32 win over the Chicago Public League entry.

Fremd (13-4) emphatically took over the game in the second quarter when it outscored the Mustangs 18-1 to lead 31-10 at intermission.

"I don't want to take anything away from Barrington - they played hard the night before and we didn't have the answers for them - but we challenged our kids to show up (Saturday) and play the way we are capable," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "It was good to see. I thought they came out hard and played better."

Tworek, a Harvard recruit, was not the only Division I player on the floor.

Morgan Park senior guard Destiny Harden is headed to West Virginia while classmate Porsha Sydnor is committed to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Harden picked up 2 fouls in the early going.

"She got those two right way and didn't play a lot so that helped us," Yates aid. "When playing a team like Morgan Park (7-10), you are dealing with a lot of pressure defense. But when you are handling the ball well, you are going to get a lot of good shots."

That was the case for Fremd which fired home five 3-pointers, three by Hayley Williams (11 points) and one apiece by Midori Williams and Tworek, who has been making a habit out of double-doubles.

She had another one on Saturday with 13 rebounds along with 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.

"It's a lot easier to coach when you have a real consistent kid like Grace who can score in multiple ways," Yates said. "And people don't even realize all the times she alters shots on defense."

Yates also got scoring from freshman Emily Klaczek, junior Angie Zara, junior Colleen Kennedy, senior Anna LaValle, junior Melissa Stapleton and senior Natalie Connors, who scored her first points of the season on a layup with five seconds left in the third quarter.

Connors (4 points) started the season with illness and had not played until Friday night at Barrington.

"We've been more of an underdog this season, and as it progresses, we are improving a lot," Tworek said. "Everyone has made great strides. Our starting five has learned to play together and mesh well and everyone else has made great improvement.

"Back-to-back games is always a struggle but I thought we pushed through it."

Morgan Park coach Kendonica Taylor called it a struggle for her team.

"But I was impressed with how we finished with our younger girls on the floor," she said. "Falling behind like we did made it hard. We've got to stay mentally tough."