Girls basketball: Donovan, Hersey nab fourth straight regional crown

When it comes to regionals, no one knows more about winning them than Kate Donovan.

And while everyone knows she's the one to stop when playing Hersey's girls basketball team, it's one of the hardest tasks for any team in the area.

Donovan scored a game-high 16 points and handed out close to double-digit assists as the Huskies swept past Buffalo Grove with a 64-37 triumph in their own Class 4A regional.

Hersey will face the winner of Friday's Fremd regional title game (host Vikings against Barrington) at the Schaumburg sectional semifinal next Tuesday.

It was Hersey's 23rd regional crown and fourth straight.

It was the fourth for Donovan in her four years on the varsity and coach Courtney Ludois' third in her three years as the Hersey coach after serving several seasons as an assistant to the late Fremd hall of famer Dave Yates.

"I learned from the best, Dave Yates," Ludois said. "And he taught me that you never take regionals for granted. You don't win them every year. We appreciate them and look forward to another week."

Donovan looked forward to her years at Hersey even back in her elementary school days.

"I still remember coach Mary Fendley (retired hall of fame Hersey coach) writing way back on Twitter when we were fifth graders in the feeder camp that the 2026 class at Hersey would win a regional," Donovan said with a big smile after Thursday's win.

That came to fruition as the Huskies improved to 21-7 with the win over Mid-Suburban League West champion Buffalo Grove (22-9).

"So I knew this could happen," Donovan said about being part of four straight regional titles. "Hersey is a really good program so we expect to go far every season in the tournament. It's always been a good program."

A layup Buffalo Grove 6-foot-2 sophomore Olivia Hill tied the game at 4-4 before Hersey went on a 7-0 run, getting a 3-pointer from Donovan, a fastbreak layup by Donovan off an assist from Etta Fischer (13 points) and a 17-footer by Donovan which made it 11-4 with 1:53 left.

Annie Sadowski's layup off a turnover and a free throw by 6-2 senior Hannah Weber got BG to within 11-7 before Fischer's layup off a beautiful entry pass from Donovan made it 13-7 after one period.

Hersey extended the lead to 24-15 by halftime. A 3-pointer from the corner by Sadie Marks (10 points) followed by Donovan's steal and assist to Lexi Miyares (9 points) for a layup and a free throw by senior Rylee Farrell made it 24-9 with 2:40 left. Two inside buckets by Hill and 2 free throws from Kayla Daugird with 2.8 seconds left made it 24-15 at the break.

In the third quarter, BG got to within 27-21 on a 17-footer by Amanda Kowalski.

"We made a couple of big runs twice but each time they'd go on big runs." said BG coach Martha Kelly. "We just couldn't get caught up."

BG never got closer than 6 points in the second half as Hersey pulled away to a 43-27 lead after three quarters which ended with Fischer's layup and Donovan's steal and layup with two seconds left.

Weber, who will play at Oakton College in Des Plaines, left the floor with 11 points and a standing ovation from the BG fans with 35 seconds left in the game.

"One thing we always say is that Hannah is a player who left the program better than she found it when she got here," Kelly said. "As a sophomore, her team won five games, as a junior 12 and now 22."

Hill and Sadowski each added 8 points for BG while Daugird had 4. Junior Emily Hany chipped in 7 points for Hersey.

"This is a young team and this season was a great learning experience for everyone," Kelly added. "We played in some really big games and played well against good teams like DePaul Academy and Lake Zurich. And they played in the MSL championship and a regional final which will all pay off next season."

Hersey hopes to continue its success this season.

"We have the attitude that our record is 0-0 now every game," said the 5-foot-7 Donovan, the Huskies’ leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and deflections.

"From here on out, it's one game at a time," Ludois said. " Every game you are fighting for one more as a team."