Hersey routs Waubonsie Valley for Wheaton North title

If Megan Rogowski were in Las Vegas, she'd be hitting blackjack until the house was broke.

That's the kind of zone the Hersey junior is in.

Rogowski scored 31 points for the second straight night - hitting five straight 3-pointers in the first half - to shoot the Huskies past Waubonsie Valley 61-30 for the Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Classic championship on Wednesday at Wheaton North.

"Megan was unstoppable for a stretch there," Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. "This whole tournament she's been fantastic."

Just like on Tuesday against Elk Grove, Rogowski dialed it up for 21 points in the first half alone. With Waubonsie's Keiera Ray in her face, she buried a long 3-pointer to put Hersey ahead for good at 7-6 midway through the first quarter. Waubonsie switched Erica Jordan onto Rogowski, but she promptly hit another contested 3-pointer from deep. Three Rogowski triples later, Hersey led 30-18 and it was 34-18 at half.

"I knew I had enough space to get the shot off," Rogowski said, "and my shot was on tonight. I don't really think about where I'm at on the floor. If I have space, why not take them - especially if I'm making them."

Rogowski scored 106 points in four games at Wheaton North. For good measure she hit all 10 of her free-throw attempts Wednesday.

Hersey's championship is its third at Wheaton North, first since 2004. The Huskies (11-3) finally claimed the biggest tournament hardware after losing to Hinsdale Central in last year's Wheaton North semifinals and to Stevenson in the Maine West Tip-Off Classic final last month.

"We had the opportunity at the Maine West tournament," Fendley said, "and we were not able to finish that game. That was disappointing. We talked about trying to take advantage of another opportunity to win a big tournament. Once we got that separation I think the girls tasted victory. No one relaxed."

Waubonsie, in the tournament final for the second straight year, trailed just 15-13 after a well-played first quarter on both sides. Keiera Ray and Tanysha Walls both scored 4 points in the early going.

But the Warriors (12-2), who failed to break 40 points for the first time this season, were held scoreless for the final 3:57 of the first half after a Becky Williford 3-pointer. Hersey ended the half on a 12-0 run and Waubonsie shot 2 of 15 in the second quarter.

"We just fell apart defensively," Ray said, "and our shots weren't falling. We need to leave this game behind us and keep it there."

Ray scored 12 points and had 6 rebounds for Waubonsie - including the Warriors' only transition basket. Normally a team that feasts off opponents' turnovers, Waubonsie went hungry. The Warriors were also outrebounded 42-25.

"We picked the worst game to play our best worst game of the season," Waubonsie coach Kim Connell said. "Hersey's a great team. We gotta play better to beat a team like that."

Maddie Swan grabbed 12 of Hersey's rebound total and 5 of the Huskies' 15 offensive rebounds. She also tallied 10 points.