Hersey survives Buffalo Grove's upset bid
A collective sigh of relief took place in the Hersey girls basketball locker room after Thursday's game at Buffalo Grove.
Just ask Huskies senior guard Andrea Perkins.
"In the locker room, you would not have known we won," said Perkins, whose club held off the upset-minded Bison 37-34 when a 3-point attempt missed in the final seconds. "We were all pretty upset.
"Some really strange things happened in the end. We fouled them twice while they were shooting 3-pointers. We made some mistakes we usually don't make. It was kind of disappointing. But a win is a win."
It was a win that kept the Huskies (17-6, 5-2) tied for first in the Mid-Suburban East with Wheeling and Elk Grove.
"Buffalo Grove (8-16, 3-5) is so much better than its record," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "Even at halftime, I told our kids they were playing right into their game.
"They were slowing it down on us and it was a low-scoring game. And even at the end they out-played us and finished real strong."
The Huskies were led on offense by junior Megan Rogowski's 15 points while Maddie Swan added 7 and Julia Fredian 5. Kathryn Korff pulled down 11 rebounds while Swan blocked 7 shots.
"We've got some big conference games coming up," Perkins added. " I think this game will make us even more ready for them."
A 16-footer by Fredian, layup by Swan and 2 free throws by Rogowski gave Hersey a 6-0 lead it would never relinquish.
Its biggest lead was 11 when Rogowski hit a 3-pointer to make it 29-18 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
But the Bison kept plugging away and the closest they got was when freshman Bailey North made 2 free throws with 7.5 seconds left to make it 37-34.
After a quick Hersey turnover, the Bison got the ball out of bounds with 6.5 seconds on the side by their own basket.
"It was a tough loss," said Heather Nisbet, one of three Bison seniors honored before the game along with Michelle Jackson, Stacey Lialios and Sam McCormack. "But I couldn't have asked for a better game on Senior's Night. My team came out and played tough. It was fun.
"Hopefully this gives us confidence for our next games. Hersey is a great team. They are the No. 2 seed in our sectional. We'll learn from this."
Junior KC Dunne, whose driving layup started BG's game-closing 10-2 run, led the Bison with 14 points. North added 7 and Andrea DiPrima 5.
"We have to take care of the ball better," said BG coach Pat Dudle. "The kids have been very resilient all season. They played some great defense to get us back in the game in the fourth quarter. We just have to do the little things the whole game."
Rolling Meadows 57, Larkin 33: Kelly Adair (9 points) and Amanda Gunn (7) led Rolling Meadows (11-11) in the nonconference game in Elgin.
No. 700?: Officials at Maine West invite all former alumni of the Maine West girls basketball program to attend today's game (7:30 p.m.) against visiting Glenbrook North as coach Derril Kipp attempts to become only the fourth girls basketball coach in IHSA history to win 700 games.