Girls basketball notes: Fremd finds plenty of positives in hard-fought loss; Linke reaches milestone for Prospect

Fremd went into the Montini Christmas tournament last week ranked No. 5 in the Class 4A girls basketball poll.

Coach James Han's Vikings (14-3) did nothing to tarnish that ranking.

In fact, the only team Fremd lost to was Benet (14-1), which very well could move into the No.1 spot in the poll after No. 1 Lyons (15-1) lost its first game of the season to Benet in the semifinal in Lombard.

Benet's only loss is to Lyons in its season opener, 77-67.

In a terrific championship game at Montini, Benet edged Fremd 67-64.

"We almost had a very similar game against Benet in 2018-2019 when it was a back-and-forth game that had a last-second 3-point shot from Grace LaBarge (Quinnipiac) that led to overtime and eventually we won in double OT," Han recalled. "Ella’s (Todd) last-second shot rattled in and out and it would have led to overtime again."

Todd was named all-tourney first team and Coco Urlacher was second team all- tourney.

"There were a lot of good teams with talented players at Montini," Han said. "We played well for the most part and fell short in the championship game. We’ve had several players step up from the bench including sophomore Anna Montella and junior Sophia McMillan who both are very talented players in other sports (Montella in softball and McMillan in soccer)."

Todd had a great showing in the 16-team tourney, averaging 22 points per game in 22 minutes per game, including 22 points in the title game.

Urlacher, still uncommitted, averaged 17 points in 19 minutes per game, including 27 points in the championship game.

"We will continue to work on our defense," said Han, whose team leads the Mid-Suburban West with a 3-0 record. "And on creating turnovers that lead to offense."

1,000 for Linke: Making its second appearance in the Montini tourney, Prospect's girls basketball team added three more wins to its successful 2024-25 season.

Coach Matt Weber's Mid-Suburban East leading Knights (12-3) went 3-1 at the 16-team event in Lombard.

In a 67-51 win over the host Broncos, sophomore Zoe Black was named player of the game as she had 16 points in the first quarter to outscore Montini.

Black finished with 22 points, shooting 8-of-9 from the floor with six 3-pointers.

It was also a noteworthy week for Knights junior Division I prospect Alli Linke, who scored her 1,000th point on Friday when Prospect defeated St. Charles East.

Linke was named to the all-tourney first team.

Another big game came from senior Sadie Splinter, who was player of the game when the Knights opened the tourney with a win over Geneva. She had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

Rolling Meadows goes 3-1: Rolling Meadows, making its second appearance at the Loyola tournament, went 3-1 and claimed the consolation title.

The Mustangs (12-3) won hard-fought games against Conant, Lane Tech and DePaul Prep.

First team all-tournament selections Abby Ramel, Nell Osterhues and Dalia Grandberry were named players of the game.

"Lizzy Andriano continued to lead us on both ends of the court," said Mustangs coach Ryan KIrkosrky. "We received important contributions from Anna Andriano, Claire Cox, Maddie Johnston, Iris Jordan and Maggie Schoessling. We learned a great deal about ourselves, and we're hoping these games propel us to a successful second half of the season."

Two straight for BG: Buffalo Grove (5-9) won its final two games of the Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown where Bison all-tourney freshman center Olivia Hill led the way with an 11.5 average over the four games and 8.5 rebounds.

She had a game-high 20 points vs. Hononegah and 14 rebounds vs South Elgin.

Hannah Weber and Kayla Daugird each averaged 7 points. Weber scored 11 vs. South Elgin along with 13 rebounds for a double-double.

Daugird had a career-high 16 points against South Elgin and finished the tournament with 17 assists and 10 steals.

Also, Amanda Kowalski stepped up vs. Hampshire with 10 points and 4 steals.

On the boards, Ava Antonopoulos had a strong tourney finishing with 14 rebounds.

Consolation champions: After dropping its first game in overtime to Lake Park, Barrington went 3-1 to win the consolation title at the Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown. Barrington capped it with a 46-40 triumph over Lake Forest in which Isla Koertner (10 points, 7 rebounds) was named a player of the game. Lily Richmond also scored 10 points with 6 rebounds while Mel Bongiorno led the Fillies with 12 points.

"I like the way we are playing with a young group," said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro.

The Fillies (7-9) also defeated South Elgin 42-30 and Naperville Central 55-45.

Laura Mahlum had 12 points and 13 rebounds vs Naperville Central, 11 points vs. South Elgin and 10 points and 7 rebounds vs. Lake Park.

"Laura Mahlum played well,“ Barreiro said. "Isla Koertner had a nice tournament."

Koertner had 15 points with four-3-pointers and 7 rebounds against Naperville Central followed by 10 points and 7 rebounds against South Elgin.

Conant .500 at Loyola: Conant (8-8) went 2-2 at the Loyola Christmas Tournament as Kanna Bradarich averaged 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Gianna Fresso averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

"Arianna Dugo and Madyson Biedke (sophomores) have stepped up since moving up to the varsity," said Conant coach Todd Strauch. "Especially after we lost Lyla Clifton to a knee injury on Monday."

Splendid Silva: Maine East (6-8) went 2-1 to take second place at the Elmwood Park tournament. Sophomore Arabella Silva scored a career-high 33 points against the host team.

Silva is now only 140 points away from 1,000 points for her career.

Palatine: Palatine (6-8) finished its tourney at Wheaton North at 2-2.

The Pirates opened up play losing to a tough and physical Downers Grove North team 33-21.

"We played well, battled hard, but came up short," said Pirates coach Sarah Davis. "Downers North is a well coached, well disciplined team and made their free throws down the stretch."

Pirates leading scorer, Molly Pieper, was ill, and did not play. Halle Onyekonwu led the team with 7 points.

Palatine then topped West Aurora team 51-42 as Addy Dersnah stepped up big.

"She played incredible defense, holding their best player scoreless in the fourth quarter, while leading the team with 17 points," Davis said.

Jas Evans followed with 12 points.

"She is playing a well-rounded game on both ends of the floor," said Davis, who also got 11 points from Onyekonwu in the game.

The Pirates fell short to Hinsdale Central, 51-40.

"But we played tough until about the last three minutes of the game," Davis said. "Hinsdale Central hit its free throws down the stretch to secure the win."

Pieper came back fully healthy for the game and led Palatine with 22 points. She earned an all-tourney award for the Pirates.

Doing it all: Hersey senior Kiki Craft made her impact offensively and defensively as the Huskies went 2-2 in the Loyola Christmas tourney to take fourth-place in the 16-team event after an overtime loss to Lake Zurich in the semifinal.

"Kiki was a huge contributor with lockdown defense and averaging 8 rebounds and 2.3 steals," said Hersey second-year coach Courtney Ludois.

Other key players for the Huskies were Kate Donovan (10.8 points, 3.3 steals, 3 assists), Sadie Marks (11 points) and Grace Grabowy (7.3 points, 2 assists).