Hersey hands Geneva 1st loss; Redbird next stop

There's a swimmer, golfer, volleyball, soccer and tennis player in Hersey's starting five.

But at the Class 4A Streamwood supersectional, these girls were all about basketball.

Who said the multi-sport athlete is fading away?

The most athletic group in coach Mary Fendley's 12 seasons was clearly in the spotlight on Monday night, becoming the first girls basketball team in school history to advance to the IHSA state finals.

Led by junior Megan Rogowski's 29 points and 15 points and 10 rebounds from senior Maddie Swan, the Huskies made up a 5-point deficit in the final 6:31 to pull out a 60-54 victory over previously-undefeated Geneva (31-1).

For the second straight season, the Mid-Suburban East will be represented in the Final Four. Wheeling was third last year.

The Huskies (27-7) will face defending 4A champ Bolingbrook (27-1) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the first Class 4A semifinal at Illinois State's Redbird Arena.

"It's something you always dream about," said Rogowski, a golfer in the fall who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and made 7-of-7 free throws. "Now we get to do it."

"Oh my God, it's one of my best days ever," said Swan, an all-area volleyball player who also plays soccer. "It's an unbelievable feeling. I don't know what to say."

Fendley knew what to say when the fourth quarter started and Hersey trailed by 2 points.

"I told the girls we've been here before," said Fendley, who also got points from Julia Fredian, Andrea Perkins and Eileen Zydek. "We were down by 2 to start the fourth quarter against Libertyville in the sectional semifinal. And we outscored them 24-4. We respond well in close games. Even when they went up 5, our kids had been there before."

Geneva's Lauren Wicinski (11 points), a 6-foot-1 post who fought foul trouble, hit a 16-footer to give the Vikings the 44-39 lead.

But less than a minute later, the Huskies were right back in it. Two free throws by Fredian and a 3-point play by Rogowski tied it at 44-44 with 5:43 left.

The game was tied at 46-46 when Hersey went ahead for good on a rebound layup by Kathryn Korff (8 rebounds) with 3:40 left.

Rogowski tossed in a 16-footer with 2:51 remaining and moments later, Korff secured another rebound and Rogowski hit a 17-footer from the top of key for a 6-point lead.

Geneva never got closer than 4 the rest of the way.

The Vikings were led by the splendid play of junior guard Kat Yelle (17 points) and sophomore guard Ashley Santos (16), who was also plagued by foul trouble in the second half.

"Santos played great defense on me (in the second and third quarters), real physical," Rogowski said. "She was right there. She didn't let me get the ball a lot. It was important to get her in foul trouble. It opened up the paint for us."

Geneva coach Gina Nolan, whose team (66-3 the last two seasons) didn't lose until the state semifinals a year ago, said the Vikes just didn't come together on Monday night.

"Hersey's defense kept us from doing a lot of the things we wanted to do on offense," she said. "They're a good team. I'm still proud of my girls. They gave a great effort and it's a great bunch. I'm sad for them that it had to come to an end."

Nolan said losing Wicinski for a good period of time (2 fouls in the first quarter) made things tougher.

"But I thought Sam (Dudman) did a good job," the coach added. "Lauren has just been such a huge part of our success. That took away some of our inside presence. We had a few players in foul trouble but we've been in those positions before."

The Vikings started the game with a matchup zone and no one in particular defending Rogowski.

"But she still found seams and hit some shots with hands in her face," said Nolan, whose club led 5-0 to start the game and trailed 23-17 early in the second quarter. "I thought Ashley (Santos) did a real good job keeping her in check at times."

Hersey can't wait to check out Redbird Arena.

"We'll just try to have three good practices and focus on Illinois State," Rogowski said. "We knew they (Geneva) had a great record but we couldn't let that get in our minds.

"Maddie played awesome. We know she is so good 1-on-1 down low. We just had to get the ball to her."