Rogowski, Hersey weather Fredian slip vs. BG

Buffalo Grove, which has enough trouble catching a break, caught a "sprain" Friday night at Hersey, but still couldn't quite take advantage.

With Hersey point guard Julia Fredian severely limited physically after spraining a wrist in the second quarter, the underdog Bison rallied from down 13-8 into a halftime tie with the homestanding Huskies at 17-17.

And never led or tied the score again. The veteran, deep and taller Huskies simply slid Megan Rogowski into Fredian's spot and she not only settled the team, she shredded the Bison for 20 points in this Mid-Suburban East battle, a 42-38 Hersey victory.

"Megan obviously picked it up," said Hersey head coach Mary Fendley. After Rogowski opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers, "That set the tone for the half," said the coach.

It wasn't just the 3-pointers. Rogowski hit 5 straight field goal tries into the fourth quarter and 6 straight free throws, quarter to quarter. With help inside from Maddie Swan and an assist around the perimeter, especially on defense, from Andrea Perkins, the Huskies (6-3, 2-0) limited the Bison (3-4, 0-2) to 15-of-41 shooting, 4-of-15 from 3-point range, and out-rebounded them 25-19.

"Defense starts the offense," said Rogowski, noting that despite the team's 19 turnovers and 14-of-38 shooting, the defensive effort carried them through.

Fendley was especially happy about that.

"Andrea did a great job on (BG guard) Heather Nisbet," said Fendley. "She's a constant for us on defense. What she does on defense really goes unnoticed."

Nisbet finished with 11 points and briefly put the Bison ahead in the first half on a 3-pointer. But Perkins and Co. challenged every shot by BG's perimeter sharpshooters, including Nisbet, Andrea DiPrima (7 points) and K.C. Dunne (11).

The Bison had no choice but to shoot from the outside after starting center Michelle Jackson and starting forward Stacey Lialios got in foul trouble early.

"We weren't focused," to start the game, said BG coach Pat Dudle. "We bounced back defensively, we got back in the game."

But Rogowski doused every challenge.

"Rogowski, in transition, she hit some big shots. She's a great player," said Dudle.

"I knew I had to step up," said Rogowski.

With a week off now, the Huskies hope Fredian will heal.

"She's our emotional leader," said Fendley. "We rely on her for so much."