Elk Grove pulls off regional upset; Fremd wins
This time, Elk Grove was not going to let Wheaton North come back from a double-digit deficit. This time, Elk Grove was not going to let Wheaton North tie it up and force double-overtime before conquering the Falcons.
And this time, the Grenadiers didn't. The 12th seed in the Class 4A girls basketball regional they're hosting ran out to a double-digit lead Tuesday night and maintained it most of the way in something of a 51-38 upset win over No. 5 Wheaton North.
Last time the teams met, Elk Grove let a big lead dissolve before holding on to win at the Wheaton North Christmas Tournament. This time, each time the Falcons (18-9) made a run, there was Elk Grove's Ashley Capotosto with a rebound to limit the Falcons to one shot.
There was Olivia Roback (12 points) and Megahan Naughton knocking down a combined 6-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter after Elk Grove shot just 4-of-10 in the first half with a chance to open a lead wider than the 26-17 advantage it had built at intermission.
"We talked about that at halftime. It was more the nerves of playing in a regional game," coach Ryan Kirkorsky said of his Grens (15-11).
Fortunately for them, leaders like Capotosto and Roback stepped up, with help from reserves like Naughton, Danielle Goranson and Amann, all of whom made significant contributions when Capotosto and Roback sat in turn with fouls.
"We didn't want to play scared. We really pulled it together," said Capotosto.
Wheaton North did not, however.
"We didn't play well. We didn't get in a good rhythm," said Falcon head coach Dave Eaton, crediting some of that to his team's poor execution and Elk Grove's defense in committing 17 turnovers and shooting just 13-of-41 from the floor while being out-rebounded 28-17.
They didn't get in rhythm at either end, unsuccessfully rotating five different players on Capotosto in their game-long man-to-man defense, double-teaming her only long enough to get burned by Naughton and Amann from the perimeter.
Hustle as she would, Brooke Olson (14 points) struggled with her shooting consistency on one end and guarding Capotosto on the other.
Despite her hustle, Fantasia Vine's quickness and some hard work around the basket by Lauren Graham, Madison Goudy and Caroline Love, the Falcons never got closer than 5 points after the first quarter and trailed by double-figures most of the way.
"Elk Grove played really well," Eaton continued. "They were physical and aggressive."
"It feels good being the underdog," said Capotosto, which the Grens will be again in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. regional final with No. 4 Fremd.
- Howard Schlossberg
Fremd 68, Leyden 22: Some extra time off is sometimes all it takes.
After three straight losses in a five-day span, the fourth-seeded Fremd girls basketball team had a week off in preparation for its 68-22 victory over Leyden on Tuesday night in the Class 4A regional semifinal at Elk Grove.
"We tried to really refocus our attitude," Fremd coach David Yates said of his team's time off. "We had four days off to really work on things that we believe make us successful. I was really pleased to see that translate."
The Vikings' (18-9) full-court press proved too much for the 20th-seeded Eagles (5-21), who turned the ball over 20 times and were unable to find any offensive rhythm. That combined with Fremd's 64 percent first-half shooting made the rout inevitable.
"We came into the game really confident because we've been working hard all week," said junior forward Gianna Abruzzo, who scored a game-high 16 points. "Once things started going well, they just kept going well for us."
Ten different players scored for the Vikings, including juniors Kendall Minta and Tess Dinterman, who contributed a combined 24 points off the bench.
Fremd will face Elk Grove in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. regional final.
- David Just