Fremd powers ahead; BG knocks off Hersey
Mid-Suburban West girls basketball champion Fremd pulled to within 1 game of an undefeated divisional season by defeating host Barrington 52-27 on Tuesday night.
Sophomore Ashley McConnell led the Vikings (20-4, 9-0) with a game-high 19 points.
Freshman Haley Gorecki added 17 points and Jessi Wiedemann 10.
“I thought Ashley McConnell had a strong game for Fremd,” said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. “She had some big offensive buckets and Fremd played its usual overall tough team defense.”
Barrington was led by Brooke Gunderson’s 12 points. She also pulled down 7 rebounds while Alexa Resch had 5. Abby Taplett made 5 steals and Ashley Heine handed out 4 assists.
“Brooke Gunderson was very aggressive offensively and did some nice things,” Barreiro said. “She’s a sophomore and we liked what we saw from her.”
Fremd made 17 of 19 free throws, including 10 of 11 in the second half.
The Fillies (12-16, 4-5) were 10-for-48 from the field.
“We got a lot of decent looks, especially in the second half,” Barrerio added. “But we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. I thought we played good solid defense in the first half. And we put them at the line too much in the second half.”
Fillies leading scorer Nicole Collins did not play because of a concussion suffered last week. Barreiro is not sure when the senior guard will return.
Buffalo Grove 45, Hersey 35: Senior guard Emily Cho scored 7 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Bison (5-21, 2-7) notched their second win in the MSL East.
Cho also had a 3-pointer in the second quarter and made 5 of 6 free throws.
Junior Bailey North connect for all 11 of her points in the second half as the Bison rallied from a 21-19 deficit at intermission.
Courtney Meyer also reached double figures for coach Pat Dudle’s Bison with 11 points, all in the middle quarters.
BG outscored Hersey 14-4 in the fourth quarter.
Maggie Hogen (12 point), Corinne Busby (10) and Meg Cerniglia led the Huskies (16-11, 5-4).
Palatine 45, Hoffman Estates 39 (OT): Palatine junior guard Nia Pappas hit a 3-pointer and made 4 of 4 free throws in overtime as the Pirates (15-10, 5-4) outscored the Hawks 9-3 in the extra session.
Pappas finished with a career-high 26 points and 4 3-pointers.
Laura Schwiekert (2 free throws in OT) chipped in 8 points for the winners followed by Katelyn Mayer (5) and McKenzie Wiedemann (4).
Mary Pettit (15 points), Destinee Young (11) and Becca Stoczynski (10) led the Hawks (9-16, 1-8).
Schaumburg 40, Conant 30: Senior Alyssa Saklak and junior Amanda Kelly each scored 15 points for the host Saxons (13-12, 6-3), who kept their hold on second place in the MSL West.
Kelly scored all of her points in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Conant was paced by Allie Bauch (9 points) and Natalie Kutrumanes (8).
Wheeling 43, Elk Grove 34: Surging Wheeling (8-16, 4-5) won for the fourth time in its last five MSL East games as seniors Kellie Kuzmanic (15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals) and Leah Malsom (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assist, 3 steals) led the way.
Freshman Deanna Kuzmanic and junior Jessi Zuba each chipped in 6 points for the Wildcats.
Elk Grove (12-12, 2-7) was led by Kelly Naughton (12 points) and Diamond Boyd (11).
St. Viator 53, Wheaton St. Francis 36: St. Viator improved to 17-12 as Erin Fabbri (15 points) and Jennie Horstmann (10) led the way offensively.
Senior center Lauren Rooney did not play (illness).
“In her place, Mary Cleary (8 points) and Justice Johnson (5) made solid contributions,” said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. “Mary adjusted many shots while Justice and Mary did a terrific job rebounding.
“We also got solid play from Katie Gavin, Mallory Hess and Morgan Hess. It’s always a tough game to play following an emotional senior night the night before (win over Joliet Catholic) but the girls came through and did what they had to do. It was a solid defensive performance.”