Fremd tunes up by jolting Johnsburg
Less than 30 seconds into Wednesday’s final-round game of the Lake Zurich Turkey Thriller girls basketball tournament, Johnsburg took a 2-0 lead over Fremd.
Apparently, that didn’t sit too well with defending Mid-Suburban League champions.
The Vikings answered with a 13-0 run and never looked back in a 76-37 victory over the Skyhawks.
Fremd and Rolling Meadows each finished with 5-0 marks in the seven-team tourney and were named co-champions.
For those who would have liked to have seen the two powerhouses play for the title, there is some good news.
Just show up at 7:30 p.m. in Palatine on Tuesday night.
The two elite teams in the state will meet in an MSL crossover.
“We’ve had a good start to the season but obviously the true test comes Tuesday,” said Fremd coach Dave Yates, whose team defeated Meadows in overtime for the MSL crown last season. “That’s when we will get an idea of where we are at.”
The Vikes were at a 2-2 tie when senior Erica Simios hit a layup with 7:22 left in the first quarter and Haley Gorecki capped the 13-0 run with a 12-foot pullup jumper midway through the first quarter.
“We just wanted to play our best,” said Simios who finished with a season-high 12 points. “We wanted to execute and make sure we finished the tournament well.”
The Vikings succeeded in that goal, and Gorecki ended up with 10 field goals and 7 free throws for a season-high 28 points including a 3-pointer.
Indiana scout Jimmy Colloton, a Rolling Meadows graduate, was on hand to watch Gorecki’s big game, which also included 8 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
“I thought we executed a lot better this game,” said the Fremd junior standout who has received numerous Division I offers from across the country. “I think it was one of our best game offensively and defensively.
“Going 5-0 in the tournament brings us confidence. It shows us we can be a good team. But we’ve got to keep playing hard because we have a big game Tuesday. We have to be ready to play.”
Gorecki and sophomore Bryana Hopkins were named to the all-tourney team. Hopkins added 14 points and 4 rebounds on Wednesday.
Freshman Grace Tworek (5 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), senior Hannah LaBarge (4 rebounds, 3 steals) and sophomore Brianna Lewis (5 assist, 3 steals) were other key contributors.
“We did a great job fastbreaking,” Hopkins said. “And we did a lot better job boxing out and rebounding in the second half.”
Johnsburg finished 2-3 in the tourney.
“I love playing in this tournament,” said Johnsburg coach Brad Frey. “We ran into Rolling Meadows on Saturday. They’re crazy good and they shoot so well. Then we have to plays these guys (Fremd). Their defense is so good. It took our girls a long time to get used to it.
“It’s tough to lose by 40 points. But we went 2-3 here. So I’m excited. This can only help us when we get back up in the McHenry area.”
Yates got points from 12 different players.
“We are making strides defensively,” he said. “We are young so our goal is to get better every game. And I thought we made some good strides this game.”