Fremd eases past Schaumburg
Fifty-three years ago Tuesday, area residents were attempting to dig themselves out of record snowstorm that had dumped nearly two feet of snow in a little over 24 hours.
Fast forward to Tuesday's Fremd-Schaumburg Mid-Subruban West girls basketball game which had the visiting Vikings attempting to clear a path forward through poor floor conditions as a result of a defensive wintry mix that the hosts dropped on them.
Fortunately for division-leading Fremd, it successfully extricated itself from trouble as it pulled away from Schaumburg 49-31.
The win allows the Vikings (18-6, 7-0) to move within a game of clinching a share of the MSL West and more importantly clinching a berth in the MSL championship game if it wins at Barrington Friday.
"I think they did a great job of not being fazed," Fremd coach Dave Yates said of his team's ability to respond to Schaumburg's challenge.
"There wasn't any panic. But it was like 'Let's go.' I feel like in the second quarter they got themselves going a little bit and in the third and fourth quarters they kept stretching it (the lead)."
Schaumburg (9-16, 3-5) was able to keep close to the Vikings thanks to early success from beyond the arc as it connected four times in the first 12 minutes of play keeping it within 2 (14-12) on a 3-pointer by junior Emma Raupp with 4:06 left in the first half.
From there Fremd used an 11-4 run over the rest of the half to establish a 25-16 lead at the half. Senior forward Olivia Hill scored the final 6 points during that run. The Bowling Green recruit shared game-high honors with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
After the Saxons closed to within 27-21 on a putback by senior forward Jackie Drs at the 5:38 mark of the third, the visitors went on a 12-3 tear over the remainder of the period that left them comfortably ahead to stay at the end of the third 39-24.
Senior reserve Katie Hansen also scored 10 points and snared a team-high 8 rebounds off the bench while fellow senior Emily Klaczek added 9 points for the Vikings.
Sophomore Alyssa Orozco led the Saxons with 8 points.
Yates took the opportunity to praise Schaumburg for its effort. Fremd had defeated the Saxons 54-14 at home on December 21.
"They are playing better basketball than the last time we played them," Yates said. "We told our kids they're shooting the ball better. They made seven 3s today."
For Klaczek, an Alabama-Birmingham recruits and Hill, both four-year letter winners, the focus is forward toward the end of the regular season and the state tournament.
"We've got to finish the season strong," Hill said. "From there we go and show up every day and play our game."
"Making sure that we start going on an upward trend," Klaczek said. "It helps that we have a veteran group of juniors and seniors."