Glassmann, Abruzzo steal this Sweet Sixteen show for Fremd

When the curtain was raised for this year's Sweet Sixteen premiere Monday night at Fremd High School, Vikings senior Gianna Abruzzo served as the headliner.

Abruzzo scored all 16 of her points in the first three quarters against Lake Zurich.

Then, in the closing act, classmate Taylor Glassmann took over spotlight.

Glassmann dazzled the crowd with 15 points in the final eight minutes to help lift Fremd to a 50-36 triumph over the Bears in Palatine.

Together, Glassmann (18 points) and Abruzzo collected 34 points, their best combined effort since registering 21 apiece against Naperville Central last season at the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.

"Taylor even joked about that," Abruzzo said after the game. "She said, "it's about time" we did that. We've been playing together since fifth grade."

"I'm very proud of both of them," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "They are great kids and they work extremely hard. It's nice to see them step up together and have great games for us."

"Those two (Glassmann and Abruzzo) really took it to us," said Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett, whose team is 3-4. "They did what they're supposed to do. Good players step up in the fourth and she (Abruzzo) did."

Fremd (5-3) got the lead for good at 30-28 when Megan Horn hit a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

Freshman Ashley McConnell (4 assists) made a nice steal and then converted a 3-point play for a 33-28 lead.

Glassmann took over from that point, scoring Fremd's next 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Her 3-point play made it 44-34 with 3:18 left in the game.

The rally continued when McConnell hit 2 free throws and Glassmann four more to complete a 17-4 run for a 50-34 advantage.

Swaying the momentum was Glassmann with her 3 field goals and 7-of-7 free throw shooting.

"That was an amazing job in the fourth quarter for Taylor to step up like that," Yates said.

Abruzzo collected 5 steals and Megan Hubbard had 4 assists.

"It really helped with Taylor putting in so many buckets in the fourth quarter and it was a nice all-around team effort," Abruzzo said.

"I was not happy with how I played the first thee quarters," said Glassmann, who also had 6 rebounds. "I wanted to make sure we came out on top so I knew I had to get the job done.

"Lake Zurich is always a tough team. They always are competitive and play hard. This is a great start to the Sweet Sixteen. We're going to see more good teams in it so hopefully we can continue playing well."

"I felt Gianna (Abruzzo) and Megan Gray did a nice job on Audrey Bauer," Yates added. "They were flipping back and forth on her and got help."