Batavia survives Oswego in double overtime

The season-long winning streak for the Batavia girls basketball team is still intact.

But not before the Bulldogs quelled a major uprising by host Oswego Wednesday night at the Panthers' Holiday Classic.

Batavia guard Sara Fruendt sent the game into double overtime with a driving layup, and the junior hit three critical free throws in the second extra session to accentuate the Bulldogs' 54-49 victory.

Batavia (9-0) will play either Rosary or Glenbard East, which needed triple overtime to turn back Minooka, in the championship game on Saturday evening. Oswego fell to 9-5.

"I just knew I had to step up for the other girls," said Fruendt, who played much of the fourth quarter and both overtimes with four fouls. "We didn't have any intention of losing the game."

Oswego led for virtually the entire game, but the Bulldogs clawed and scratched their way back into contention with superior athleticism. Four-year starter Natalie Tarter scored the bulk of her team-high 16 points by beating her defenders off the dribble and converting along the baseline.

"They couldn't keep up with our athletic players on the wing," said Tarter, the Bulldogs' state-champion track and field hurdler who also led the team with 8 rebounds.

Tarter scored on one of her patented darting moves with one minute and 50 seconds remaining in regulation to give Batavia a 39-38 lead, but the Panthers' Paige Harmon sent the game into overtime with a split trip at the free-throw line.

The first overtime was a tactical battle, and Fruendt tied the game at 43-43 with her off-handed drive with 59 seconds left.

Katie Rueffer had four offensive rebounds from late in the fourth quarter to the second overtime. Rueffer was fouled on the last of her second-chance efforts, and her two free throws with 1:09 left gave Batavia the lead for good at 51-49.

"It was really important to get those rebounds, so we could keep possession of the ball," Rueffer said.

"We weren't able to get a defensive rebound when we really needed one," said Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann.

Fruendt then iced the game by scoring the last 11 of her points from the free-throw line.

The late-game efficiency from the line was a marked departure from the Bulldogs' opening half in which they missed 10 of 15 attempts. But the Bulldogs' defense harassed Oswego into a 5-for-27 effort from the field in the first half, which ended in a 16-16 deadlock.

Katie Ziemnik led Oswego with 16 points.