Complete effort from Hersey

Nine days ago, Hersey pulled out a tense 42-38 victory over Elk Grove in the fifth-place game of the Wheaton North tournament.

The teams were back at it against each other on Saturday night in Arlington Heights at the Ken Carter Gymnasium.

This time, the Huskies made it a little easier on their fans, which included alumni from the recent past.

Hersey got ahead 21-8 by half and then rolled to a 42-20 victory to stay in the hunt for the Mid-Suburban East crown.

The Huskies improved to 10-8 and 2-2 in the Mid-Suburban East, 2 games behind 4-0 Rolling Meadows and Prospect.

Elk Grove stands at 9-7 and 1-3.

"Our defense really stepped up," said senior point guard Jen Hall who led the Huskies with 13 points, including a 3-pointer. "We just locked down. Elk Grove has some really good players like Diamond Boyd and Kelly Naughton but we helped each other out on them. The key was communication. We talked a lot and played really good team basketball."

Senior forward Maggie added 10 points with 16 rebounds for the defending East champs while senior Corinne Busby (2 3-pointers in the first quarter) chipped in 9 points with 4 assists.

Hersey junior Sara Bayerle collected her first varsity points in the final quarter.

"I'm really proud of our defense," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley "We had a few problems the last time we played them but the girls did a great job adjusting.

"Maggie and Meg Cerniglia spent a lot of time defending Diamond (Boyd). She's such a nice player so you have to account for her at all times."

Boyd scored half of the Grens' points (10) while also grabbing 10 rebounds.

Naughton played through illness to help run the Grens' offense, which also received 5 points from junior Kari Czeszewski.

"Kelly (Naughton) has been battling (illness) for a while," said Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "She always gives it all she has. Hersey just outplayed us in every facet of the game."

"Our defense started it," said Hogen, who scored in every quarter but the second. "It's nice to be back at .500 in the conference. We're hoping this game will get us going."