Girls basketball: Hersey pulls away from Fremd for win a long time in the making

Since 1999 the Fremd and Hersey girls basketball teams have played in different divisions of the Mid-Suburban League and appeared in more title games than any other teams.

On Thursday night in Palatine, they played for the first time since 1998 as division opponents in the newly formed MSL East.

For three quarters the two powerhouses traded buckets at a quick pace before the Huskies put on the defensive clamps in the final period, outscoring the host Vikings 14-5, en route to a 66-56 triumph.

It was Fremd's first loss in a division game since Barrington defeated the Vikings in January 2022, ending a 35-game streak.

“It feels great winning, especially against a great team like Fremd,” said Hersey senior guard Kate Donovan, who capped off her official signing day with New Jersey Institute of Technology. by scoring a personal-high 26 points. “This is not a one-person team. It's everyone doing something. We play a team game of basketball.”

The Huskies (6-2, 2-0) played tough defense in the final eight minutes after Fremd's Lucy Kim hit a 3-point shot with 6:25 left to put the Vikings (7-2, 1-1) in front 54-42.

But Donovan converted her second 3-pointer of the game, igniting an 14-2 run to close the game.

“We said the key to the game was defense,” said Hersey coach Courtney Ludois, who was the Fremd assistant coach when the Vikes lost their last division game. “We said our defense could not take the night off because we know the offense might not always be there.”

“When the offense isn't working, our defense feeds the offense,” Donovan added. “And when the defense isn't working, the offense feeds it.”

After her go-ahead 3-pointer, Donovan found sophomore Etta Fischer under the basket for a layup. Fischer completed the three-point play for a 58-54 lead with 5:25 left.

Junior Sadie Marks' three-point play made it 61-54 before Donovan hit a 10-footer for a 63-54 cushion with 2:08 left in the game.

Lucy Kim (11 points) ended up with all 5 points for Fremd in the last period as she hit a driving 6-footer from the baseline with 42 seconds left.

Donovan capped the scoring with three free throws in the final 18.5 seconds.

“We don't win the game without (Donovan),” Ludois said. “She was unbelievable. She is the heart and soul of our team. She was on a different level tonight.”

“We had some breakdowns on penetration that we don't normally have, and Donovan had 26 points so she played great,” said Fremd coach Jim Weaver. “She is obviously hard to handle and was the best player on the floor tonight.”

Marks added 17 points for Hersey, while Fischer had 14. Emily Hany, Luciana Pesoli and Lexi Miyares each had a 3-pointer for Hersey.

“We gave up 66 points and we are better than that,” Weaver added. “We are averaging about 30 points allowed per game. Hersey did a lot of good things. I feel bad for our kids because I know how important this is to them. So we have some things we have to work on to try and get better. We knew coming into this season it was going to be challenging and I trust our kids to rise to that challenge.”

Fremd enjoyed the biggest leads in the first quarter when it went ahead 11-6 on a driving bank shot by Bella Del Mar (9 points) and later at 14-9 after a 3-pointer by Greta Thompson (team-high 19 points).

But Hersey grabbed the lead at 17-16 on a driving layup by Marks.

Fremd tied it at 17 on a free throw from Anna Montella (4 points) before Thompson hit another 3-pointer to give Fremd a 20-17 heading into the second quarter.

After Thompson hit her third 3-pointer for a quick 23-17 lead, Hersey answered with a 7-0 run capped by Fischer's fastbreak layup off a beautiful 40-foot pass from near midcourt by Donovan for a 24-23 lead.

Hersey pulled ahead 33-27 when the freshman Pesoli sank a 3-pointer from the baseline with 3:17 left until halftime.

Hersey took its biggest lead of the half at 35-27 on a driving bank shot from Donovan with 43 seconds left before Gracie Todd (11 points) hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with 1:36 left and then a 17-footer with six seconds remaining to get Fremd to within 35-32 at half.

Todd opened the third quarter with her eighth consecutive point, hitting a 3-pointer that tied the game at 35-35.

Hersey twice led by 5 points in the period at 40-35 and 48-43 and 52-47 on a big driving layup by Fischer with 49 seconds left.

Del Mar's 3-pointer and a free throw by Montella got Fremd to within 52-51 heading into the decisive final period.

“I'm not going to have my voice (Friday),” Ludois said with a smile. “It feels great to get a win when you play a team like Fremd, which is always going to show up in its own gym. Our defense down the stretch was unreal. I'm really proud of the team.”