Hersey defense smothers Warren

Hersey turned up the pressure at the Mundelein Class 4A regional on Thursday night, and Warren didn't have an answer.

Hersey's spotty shooting was offset by a sticky fullcourt press, propelling the Huskies to a 55-34 regional title victory.

The No. 2-seeded Huskies advanced to the Libertyville sectional, where they will face the host Wildcats in Tuesday's semifinal at 7:30 p.m.

"We have some high goals for this team and this is one of them," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley, whose Huskies won their 13th regional title. "We'll celebrate this tonight, and tomorrow we'll get right back to business."

Junior Megan Rogowski, who became the Huskies' all-time leading scorer Tuesday, started Thursday going 0-for-10 from the field.

The junior sharpshooter came back to score a game-high 20 points to lead the Huskies.

Senior Julian Fredian (10 points) and senior Maddie Swan (10 points, 15 rebounds) added to the Huskies' attack.

Hersey entered the second quarter with a 15-10 lead, but the Huskies' pressing defense spurred a 7-0 run to begin the quarter with senior Kathryn Korff scoring underneath, senior Andrea Perkins converting a steal and Fredian finishing the run with one of her two 3-pointers.

The Huskies added a 9-0 run later in the quarter to take a 31-18 halftime advantage.

"Defense is probably one of the most important things," said Fredian of the Huskies' pressure, which forced Warren into 18 turnovers in the first half. "Offense helps, but defense wins games."

"When you turn the ball over that many times it's hard to win against a good team," said Warren coach John Stanczkiewicz.

Hersey increased its advantage to 17 points early in the third quarter, but Warren (15-15) used a 7-0 run to narrow the deficit to 35-25 with 5:07 remaining in the quarter.

Sophomore Jessica Prince scored 5 of her 9 points during the run for the Blue Devils.

But Hersey once again turned to its defense to close out the quarter with a 10-2 run and take a 45-27 advantage heading into the final quarter.

"We've been there before," said Rogowski of the Blue Devils' uprising. "We just had to stay calm and play our normal game."

Warren sophomore Alexis Leneau (15 points) was held to 2 points in the second half thanks to some sticky defense by Perkins.

Warren started three sophomores and one freshman and the Blue Devils future looks bright, especially after starting the season 1-7.

"We've come a long way," said Stanczykiewicz of his young team. "The question is are they satisfied or do they have a taste of it now?"