Hersey beats Elk Grove for third time
Hersey's girls basketball team plays for the championship of the Season's End tournament this Monday night.
On Friday night at Elk Grove, the Huskies ended their Mid-Suburban East schedule.
Led by Megan Rogowski's game-high 27 points, Hersey ended up with a 58-44 victory over the Grenadiers, who dropped their third game this season to the Huskies.
Hersey (20-7, 7-3) finishes second in the East while Elk Grove (21-5, 6-4) tied for third with Prospect.
This time, Elk Grove was without 6-foot-4 senior center Courtney Lindfors, who was sidelined for her second straight game because of a foot injury.
Her front-line partner Ashley Capotosto poured in 25 points, going 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
"Without her (Lindfors), we talked about getting the ball into our posts," said Rogowski, who was 10-of-11 at the free throw line and converted 3 3-pointers.
"I thought we'd go more inside but our posts combined for only 8 points," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley. "Our passing on the perimeter was good and when we did penetrate, we were able to get some high-percentage shots."
Rogowski, who had 12 rebounds and 5 assists, and Maddie Swan (10 rebounds, 3 assists) and Kathryn Korff helped Hersey control the boards.
"They had a couple of nice back screens to set up some open shots and when you have shooters like they have, those can be back-breakers," said Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "And they controlled the boards at both ends for the most part."
Maggie Hogen came off the bench to chip in 8 points, including 2 buckets off nifty assists from guard Kari Tunney and Rogowski.
A 3-pointer by Maggie Fries gave the hosts a 19-13 lead before Hersey answered with three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Rogowski and one by Julia Fredian.
Hersey took the lead for good when Rogowski hit her third 3-pointer of the second quarter for a 22-19 lead.
"I'm so happy for the kids," Fendley said. "It's hard to beat any team three times. But to do it against at team like Elk Grove? They only have five losses and three are to us (the other two to Wheeling). I'm so proud of our kids to do that."
Freshman Kelly Naughton added 6 points for the Grens while Oliva Roback and Missy Regan each had 4.
"Except for some defensive lapses, I thought we made them take tough shots," said Kirkorsky, who hopes to have Lindfors back for Tuesday's MSL crossover game at Hoffman Estates. "I think Leah Miller (junior forward) is the smartest kid on our team. I thought she did a fantastic job on defense. She always gives everything she has."