Fremd’s McConnell keeps rolling
Ashley McConnell didn’t miss a beat from last week’s prestigious Dundee-Crown Charger Classic when she averaged 21 points in the four games.
On Tuesday night, she weaved her way between defenders for sneaky layups and swished shots from 3-point range to score 21 points against Prospect on Tuesday night in a 60-38 Mid-Suburban League girls basketball crossover triumph.
Not a bad stretch for Fremd’s junior guard who also happens to wear uniform No. 21.
“Prospect played real tough in the first half,” McConnell said. “So we knew we had to come out stronger in the third quarter.”
The Vikes (13-3) led 25-23 at the break and Prospect (10-8) tied it when senior guard Jessica Petrovski swished a 14-footer to start the start the third quarter.
But the MSL West leaders proceeded on a 13-3 run to take control.
McConnell started the rally with her first of two 3-pointers.
Junior Bernie Williams finished it when she took a pass from Jessi Wiedemann (11 points) and did a circle move near the basket for an 8-foot bank shot that made it 37-28 with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
“It was not one of our better halves across the board — offensively or defensively in the first half,” said Fremd coach Dave Yates. “We challenged the girls at half to communicate and play defense and they responded.”
The Vikes also responded at the free-throw line where they converted a season-high 25-of-34. Freshman Haley Gorecki (14 points) was 10-of-14 at the line.
A driving layup by Adriane Falagario got the Knights to within 39-30 late in the third quarter but that’s as close as they would get.
Michele Molini’s second 3-pointer and a 6-foot bank shot by Petrovski cut the Prospect deficit to 44-35 with 6:05 left in the game before Fremd went on an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Marilyn Lortz capped the Vikes’ rally with a fastbreak layup on an nice assist from McConnell.
“It was a learning experience for us going up against the aggressive players they have,” said Molini (6 points). “Sticking with them in the first half was a big confidence boost even though the final score was not what we wanted.”
Falagario led the Knights with 10 points while Christina Brucci (1 3-pointer) and Pretovski each chipped in 7.
“It was a moral victory,” said Knights coach Martha Kelly. “Coming out of the Dundee-Crown tourney, we talked about playing better and with more energy. We had a great first half and shut down their offense. But their free throws at the end hurt us.
“I was very proud of the way we played defensively and stuck together. We never hung our heads. We are kind of fortunate to see them at this point because it will help us down the road. It was a good game to prepare us for the rest of our conference schedule.”