Abruzzo rides to Fremd's rescue

Fremd forward Gianna Abruzzo spent most of the Vikings' opening-round Dundee-Crown tournament game on the bench in foul trouble.

It was a good thing she was on the court in the fourth quarter.

The senior came up big in the last few minutes, scoring 5 of her 7 points and making a crucial steal with eight seconds left in a 37-34 win over Evanston.

"It motivated me," said Abruzzo after picking up 2 quick fouls in the first quarter, then 2 more early in the third quarter that sent her to the bench both times.

"It was disappointing to be out, but at that point I knew my role - to be a good teammate and cheer on my teammates."

Neither team had more than a 4-point lead the entire contest. The Vikings (10-3) took a 19-15 halftime advantage after a rebound and putback by 6-foot-1 forward Jessi Wiedemann, but Evanston tied things at 25-25 after three quarters.

Senior guard Taylor Glassmann (game-high 13 points) nailed a late 3-pointer, then a layup by Abruzzo put Fremd up 36-34 with 30 seconds left.

"She gave us an emotional lift," said Vikings coach David Yates of Abruzzo's fourth-quarter heroics. "She's a high energy kid and she gets to a lot of loose balls."

The Wildkits had a chance to tie or take the lead, but with eight seconds remaining Abruzzo stole the entry pass under Evanston's basket to stop the threat.

"It was crunch time," said Abruzzo, "so at that point we all buckled down. We needed a stop and I knew the ball was mine."

Glassman hit a free throw 2.5 seconds left to seal the win.

Abruzzo added 8 rebounds in her limited playing time, while 6-1 junior forward Megan Gray scored 7 points and freshman guard Ashley McConnell provided a spark while hitting 4 free throws.

Fremd was able to capitalize at the foul line, hitting 14-of-20 while Evanston was 0-for-6.

"I thought we displayed a sense of urgency at the end," Yates said. "This wasn't one of our better games, but I'll take a win especially considering we didn't play our best."