Girls basketball: Fremd beats Barrington, wins another regional title
Just outside the doors of the Fremd High School gymnasium sat the school's old softball diamond where Jim Weaver led the Vikings to 10 regional titles in 15 seasons as a hall of fame softball coach.
On Friday night inside those doors, Weaver led the Vikings to a girls basketball regional championship, the program's 29th, to tie Buffalo Grove for most by any Mid-Suburban League team.
Led by seniors Greta Thompson (14 points) and Sophia McMillan (11) and junior Gracie Todd, No. 3 seeded Fremd (25-6) posted a 60-30 triumph over No, 6 seed Barrington (12-18) in the Vikings' own Class 4A regional.
The Vikes advance to Tuesday's Schaumburg sectional where they will face No. 2 Hersey (21-7) in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
In his first season, Weaver has guided the perennial MSL powerhouse to its fourth straight regional crown, following in the footsteps of the late hall of famer Dave Yates and James Han a year ago.
“It's not about me,” Weaver always emphasizes. “It's about the girls. They are playing well at the right time so I am proud of them.”
“He (Weaver) says 'we over me,” McMillan said. “It's what he always says, 'us over ourselves.’ And that is what we always do on the court, play as 'us over ourselves.’”
“The way he coaches, he cares so much about us on and off the court and I think that really shows in the way we play and the way he feels about all of us,” Thompson added. “It's pretty cool that he now has a regional title in basketball after all those in softball. It's amazing.”
Barrington rallied from a 6-0 deficit to grab its first lead at 8-7 on a 3-pointer from Mel Bongiorno with 2:35 left in the opening quarter.
Two free throws by Simra Alam made it 10-7 before Fremd came back with buckets from Thompson, Anna Montella and a big driving layup from Todd to take the lead for good at 13-10.
The Vikes asserted themselves in the second quarter, outscoring Barrington 21-3.
“We came out really hot at the start then it got a little bumpy toward the end of the first quarter,” McMillan said. " … We finished, made our shots, rebounded and did everything we could to win. I think our pressure on the ball, pressing them and being connected on the floor really helped us.”
Todd's two free throws and 17-footer ignited a 15-3 run that also included back-to-back steals and assists from Thompson that led to layups by McMillian.
“Sophia's one of our magic puzzle pieces,” Weaver said. “We turned it up on defense, made some adjustments and connected better on the defensive end.”
Senior Lucy's Kim's layup off a steal and assist from Nelly Gonella (4 points) made it 34-15 at intermission.
Fremd kept up the pressure in the third period, answering Lily Richmond's 3-point play with a 6-0 run that included a layup by Gonella, a 3-pointer from Kim and a fast-break 6-footer by Thompson off an assist from Todd for a 48-25.
“I thought we got into our own heads in the second quarter,” said Barrington hall of fame coach Babbi Barreiro. “They got that cushion on us and we started getting nervous. We made too many mistakes with the basketball and missed some shots. But credit Fremd. I thought their defense was terrific. They did a really nice job taking us out of some things we like to do.”
Bongiorno, a junior, scored 6 of her team-high 8 points in the first half. Classmates Richmond and Isla Koertner each finished with 7.
“I thought we came out ready to go and the kids played well,” Barreiro added. “The fight was there and they were confident and I love to see that. I know they got us tonight but I think where we started the season and where we are ending, we have no doubt made some huge strides and some real improvement,
“We never quit all season. I love that and think a lot of it had to do with the leadership of Simra (Alam) and Maddie Anderle. We've got six seniors on this team including our manager and all six have just been committed, hard-working and just a pleasure to have.”
Kim added 8 points for the Vikings while Montella had 6.
Weaver also got scoring from Bella Del Mar and Natalie Klink.
“He (Weaver) pushes us every single day to be our best,” McMillan said. “I think he is so good at communicating to us and knowing how we are feeling throughout practice all week and knowing what we can do. He continues to communicate with us and push us to do our best.”