Girls basketball: Donovan helps Hersey get past Rolling Meadows
Just when it seemed Rolling Meadows was making its move in the second half, junior Kate Donovan moved the momentum back to Hersey's girls basketball team on Thursday night.
Sophomore Iris Jordan's 3-pointer capped Meadows' 8-2 run to start the second half and got the host Mustangs to within 30-27 with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
But that's when the ever-dangerous Donovan went to work.
First, she assisted on 6-foot-2 sophomore Sadie Marks' short hook shot with a nice entry pass.
Donovan then proceeded on her own 7-0 run.
She hit a 3-pointer and produced a pair of steal and layups in a span of 1:40 that pushed Hersey's lead back up to 39-27 and the Huskies (16-11, 7-2)) never looked back in a 48-36 Mid-Suburban East triumph over Meadows (17-7, 6-3).
When she wasn't scoring, Donovan (5 steals, 3 assists) was finding her teammates with entry passes including a few to Marks who scored a game-high 14 points with 5 rebounds.
"Kate made some good plays there," said Hersey coach Courtney Ludois of Donovan's 7-0 run. "I was just about to call a timeout and then we made that little run."
"I think they surprised us with some 3-pointers that we weren't expecting," Donovan said. "I don't feel like the score represented our energy in the game. If we had cut those 3s out, it would have been different. But we adjusted in the second half to what they were doing."
In all, the Mustangs connected for eight 3-pointers, with 6-4 junior Dalia Grandberry (13 points, 7 rebounds), Nell Osterhues (6 points) and Jordan (8 points) each firing home a pair. Lizzy Andriano (5 points) and Caylee Del Boccio each had one.
Hersey sped out a 6-0 lead but 3-pointers from Grandberry and Osterhues kept Rolling Meadows to within 8-6.
However, Hersey went on an 8-2 run, getting 2 free throws from Marks and 4 points from senior Kiki Craft to make it 14-6 with 3:47 left.
Grandberry hit a 7-footer over multiple defenders to get RM to within 16-10 after one period.
Marks and freshman Lexi Miyares hit 3-pointers to start the second quarter, giving Hersey its biggest lead of the half at 22-10.
Hersey's Etta Fischer scored on a putback with 1:46 left and the freshman added a free throw 20 seconds later which sent Hersey into the intermission leading 27-19.
"Our defense always keeps us in games, even when our offense isn't there," said Hersey coach Courtney Ludois. "And obviously Kate Donovan a big part of that. Kiki (Craft) did a great job on their shooter."
Craft also grabbed 6 rebounds while Marks had five and Maddy Drury (5 points) blocked 2 shots.
"It was a good defensive effort," Ludois added. “I thought Sadie (Marks) did a real good job inside. She has been real solid for us and she did a good job on Grandberry inside."
Meadows' leading scorer, 5-11 junior Abby Ramel, did not play due to illness.
"I thought our kids were very balanced and played the right way," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "Obviously we would have liked to have had Abby in the lineup. She does a lot of things for us and hopefully she will be back soon."
Jordan also had 3 assists for Meadows while Grandberry and Anna Andriano had 2 apiece. Anna Andriano also had 5 rebounds.
"I was really proud of the way our kids played and stuck to the game plan," KIrkorsky said. "I thought we did well with an inside-out game with Dalia and I thought Iris really stepped up and had a nice game.
"I think the kids are responding well in games to the things we work on in practice. Hersey is obviously a really tough team so hopefully we learn from this and are ready for our next game."