Fremd stands tall against Hononegah
Rockton Hononegah's girls basketball team is ranked fifth in state for some reasons: a towering 6-foot-4 junior center (Nicole Smith), a powerhouse 5-10 forward (Brea Edwards) and a 13-2 record coming into Tuesday night's quarterfinal contest of the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic against Fremd.
It made for quite a task for the Vikes, who came in 12-2 but “vertically challenged,” according to coach David Yates.
It didn't matter. The Vikings, relying on their quickness and depth, forced 17 turnovers out of the Lady Indians and were clutch at the foul line in registering a 71-64 win while moving into the semifinals tonight at 8 against Bartlett, which defeated Prospect 68-63.
And you can place this win squarely on the Fremd defense.
“We hang our hats on that,” said Yates, whose club played man-to-man despite giving away size advantages almost across the board. Their switching, pesky effort had the Lady Indians out of synch all evening. Amazingly, it came despite being in severe foul trouble — of the Vikes' tallest players, Megan Gray fouled out and Jessi Wiedemann finished with 4 personals. And the foul trouble looked like it might be the Vikings' undoing as Hononegah reduced an 11-point deficit to 2 late in the game on the strength of Edwards' power moves inside.
But free throws down the stretch from Sarah Power in a marvelous effort off the bench, and sophomore point guard Ashley McConnell (18 points) sealed the win.
Some particularly tough “D” on Hononegah's last few possessions helped. Starting forward Jaimie Groot (13 points), Power and Megan Horn off the bench took turns flustering Smith.
“Our other kids came in and made a difference,” said Yates.
The strategy was simple. Body up on Smith on defense and, according to McConnell: “Stay calm. Move the ball. Be smart.”
Fremd committed 7 fewer turnovers than its foe and shot 23 of 36 from the floor, including 5-for-12 on 3-pointers. McConnell's quickness to the basket and help in distributing the ball enabled Fremd's very balanced scoring. Gray had 14 and Wiedemann 9, and all seven players who saw action scored.
Fremd was in control all the way, never relinquishing the lead after an 8-point, first-quarter run fueled by Gray, Groot and Horn. Until Edwards got going, Elizabeth Jordan kept the Lady Indians in it with an uncanny 6-of-8 shooting performance from 3-point range.
“It's pretty awesome,” McConnell said of the team effort. “All the girls stepped up.”