Fremd returns to the hardware store with sectional final victory against Stevenson

Just after Stevenson gained only its second lead in the Class 4A girls basketball sectional championship at Fremd High School on Thursday night, Fremd's sister act took center stage.

Junior Ellie Thompson and sophomore Greta Thompson hit back-to-back 3-pointers just 40 seconds apart to push the lead back to 5 points and the top-seeded Mid-Suburban League champs were on their way to securing a 46-41 victory and 10th sectional title in program history.

Utah commit Ella Todd followed the big 3-pointers with a 12-foot pull-up jumper and Greta Thompson hit another big 3-pointer with 5:05 left for a 40-32 cushion from which the No. 2-seeded Patriots could not recover.

The Pats (29-4) edged to within 40-36 with a 3-pointer from Emma Brooks with 2:51 left and closed to within 44-41 with a fastbreak layup by Klatt with 19.4 seconds to go before Todd made two free throws with 0.1 seconds for the final margin.

“Those were huge shots for both Thompsons,” said Todd, who led the Vikes with 12 points, including 5 of 6 free throws in the second half. “I think at the end we just trusted each other and we knew we could win it. We knew they were a good team and it would be a hard-fought game. We just believed in ourselves and knew we could win this game.”

The next game for Fremd (28-6) will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Bartlett supersectional against Batavia (30-5).

Ellie Thompson finished with 11 points followed by teammates Brynn Eshoo (8 points), Greta Thompson (6) and Coco Urlacher (6). Senior Isabelle Zavilla had a big 3-pointer in the opening quarter.

“I think those 3s (early in the fourth quarter) helped lift up our spirits,” Ellie Thompson said. “It made us feel like, 'OK, we've got this and we want to go as far as we can.”

It marks the fifth time under hall of fame coach Dave Yates that Fremd has won a sectional. It was the ninth time Yates had his team playing in a sectional championship.

“I thought we hit some huge shots,” said Yates, whose five sectional crowns equal the five that former Fremd hall of fame coach Carol Plodzien won. “The Thompson sisters started knocking them down. It was four possessions where we made big shots. And sometimes that's all it takes.”

It took first-year Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael just one season to reach a sectional final.

“I am so proud of the way our kids played,” she said. “It's a really special group, especially the seniors.”

One of those is Emory Klatt, who scored a game-high 18 points. Senior Kendell Williams added 7 for the Pats while Nisha Musunuri and Emma Brooks each added 6.

“We played so hard each and every moment of the game,” said the DePaul-bound Klatt, who leaves Stevenson as its second all-time leading scorer and having won a Class 4A championship as a sophomore. “We did not give up. And I don't think we could have done anything more, I'm so proud of every single one of my teammates. Every single person made this team so special and I'm forever grateful for every person, the coaches and everyone involved. It's such an amazing program that I've been involved with the last four years.”

Urlacher's rebound layup with 55 seconds left in the first quarter gave Fremd a 12-10 heading into the second quarter in which the Vikes scored the first 6 points. They received a 6-foot turnaround basket and fastbreak layup from Portland pledge Eshoo and a rebound 6-footer from Urlacher for an 18-10 lead.

Brooks' 3-pointer pulled Stevenson to within 18-13 with 4:22 left until half. Klatt's twisting layup through the lane cut it to 18-15. Fremd led 23-18 at the break, thanks to Urlacher's putback at the buzzer.

Stevenson scored three buckets in the first 1:34 of the third quarter to take a 24-23 lead and trailed only 29-28 after three quarters.

“We had a couple of defensive mishaps and they're a great team and they're going to hit big shots,” Carmichael said of the Vikes’ three 3-pointers in the final period. “Great players are going to hit big shots.

“From last summer to now, I'm really proud of how these kids stuck with me and my coaching staff and themselves. They really came together as a team. We had some amazing wins. At the end of the day, wins and losses are not always the biggest things. But for these kids to commit themselves to something that's bigger than them isn't easy. I'm really proud of all the ups and downs of the season even when they gave me some gray hairs.”