Fremd wins this battle with Barrington

Fremd's girls basketball team has been battling Hoffman Estates and Barrington for first place in the Mid-Suburban West all season.

So it was appropriate that when the Vikings played at Barrington Friday night, it too was a battle.

Despite leading by 16 points with 3:10 left in the third quarter, Fremd surrendered the lead and then pulled out the victory in the final minute 51-50 to remain in a first-place tie with Hoffman (18-2, 5-1).

The Fillies (15-7, 4-2), wearing pink socks in honor of breast cancer awareness night, used a 17-2 run, capped by Abby Kirchoff's 3-pointer, to edge ahead 43-42 with 4:44 left in the game.

But the resilient Vikings (14-6, 5-1) bounced back as junior Gianna Abruzzo hit 2 free throws and converted a 3-point play off a steal by Bridget Kubis to regain a 47-43 lead.

Barrington answered with a 3-point play by Anna Kirchoff (10 points) and a big sweeping layup by Jenny Schnack (13 points) for a 48-47 lead at the 2:35 mark.

With 1:11 left, Kubis put the Vikings ahead for good at 50-49 with a pair of free throws.

Sam Thelin (team-high 18 points) added another free throw with 32.2 seconds to make it 51-49 before Abby Kirchoff, following her own dramatic steal, made 1-of-2 free throws with 9.4 seconds left to determine the final score.

Thelin helped Fremd build the 16-point cushion (41-25) lead as the senior guard scored 10 of her team's first 11 points of the second half.

"Oh my God, it was a battle all the way to the finish," said Abruzzo, who scored 11 points and made 4 of 5 free throws in the final quarter. "It always is with Barrington."

The Vikings were able to pull away to a 30-20 lead at half as junior sharpshooter Taylor Glassmann scored 15 of her 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, in the first 16 minutes.

"Taylor was really hitting in the first half," Abruzzo said. "Then Bridget had the big steal and big free throws at the end and Megan Gray had the big box out at the end (to give the Vikings the rebound after the missed free throw with 9.4 second left).

"We played more as a team than we had ever before and that's what led us to the victory."

Anna Kirchoff led the Fillies' comeback as she scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, including 3 3-pointers.

"Abby did a super job turning the page from the first half and I felt she really took over in the second," said Fillies coach Babbi Barreiro. "I think we tend to forget she's only a sophomore. She plays well beyond her years."

"There's not a kid on this team who isn't passionate about the game. It's a pleasure to coach them."

Fremd coach Dave Yates went with zone defense most of the game.

"That was the most zone I've gone with in my career," he said. "We wanted to give them difficult looks at the basket. I was pleased with how the kids stuck with the game plan. To come here and get a win is very big for us. As a group, the girls played very tough."

"This was a big one for us," Abruzzo added. "Even when we lost our big lead, we kept telling ourselves were going to win."

The Vikings did indeed win the battle.