Weyhrich, Hersey come up big vs. C-G

At 5-foot-2, Kelly Weyhrich is often the smallest player on the floor.

But Hersey’s freshman guard who wears No. 20 played a big role in win No. 20 for Hersey’s girls basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Ken Carter gymnasium.

Weyhrich shared team rebounding honors with 6 while also handing out 5 assists and hitting a 3-pointer as the Huskies (20-2) pulled away in the second half for a 55-29 victory over Cary-Grove in Arlington Heights.

It isn’t the first time Weyhrich has been able to snare a handful of rebounds.

“I don’t know how she does it, but she gets position and she gets rebounds,” said Hersey coach Mary Fendley, who reached 20 wins for the tenth time in her 16 years while notching career win No. 324. “Cary-Grove is a tough team and they were battling some injuries.”

Sophomore Maggie Berigan also battled on the boards for 6 rebounds while Claire Gritt, also a freshman, pulled down 5 with her 8 points.

Top scorer for the Huskies was senior guard Morgan Harris, who flung in a career-high five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points.

Juliette Vainisi chipped in 9 points followed by Renee Poulos 6 and Annie Korff 5.

Fendley praised the defense of Korff, who had the tough assignment on the Trojans standout Katie Barker (15 points, 4 in the second half).

“Annie did a nice job on Barker in the second half ” Fendley said. “She tightened up on her.”

The Huskies’ defense limited the visitors to 10 points in the final 16 minutes.

“Our press started working better and we pushed the ball up court,” Fenwick said. “We had more transition points in the second half. I think we just wore them down.”

Wheeling 39, Prairie Ridge 37: The host Wildcats (11-11) received 13 points from junior Hannah Dobrowski and 11 from classmate Hailey Dammeier in the nonconference game.

Junior Deanna Kuzmanic, who missed Friday’s game with illness, did not play Saturday either.

Dobrowski made her final 4 free throws in the fourth quarter and also had a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Lani Greenberg chipped in 6 points and freshman Melissa Claver 5 for the Wildcats.

Vernon Hills 59, Barrington 49: Brooke Gunderson (14 points), Angie Kirchoff (11) and Bailee McDonald (7) were top scorer for the visiting Fillies, who fell behind 16-6 after one quarter.

Gunderson and Aoife Callanan each had a pair of 3-pointers for Barrington (16-5) while Auri Grayson and Kirchoff had one apiece. McDonald pulled down 10 rebounds.

“I thought Bailee played very well,” said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. “And Brooke Gunderson (3 steals) gave us another steady game.”

The Fillies were 11-of-21 at the line while the Cougars (16-5) were 21-of-24.

“Free-throw shooting hurt us again and we had 17 turnovers,” said Barreiro, whose team was 6-for-16 at the line on Friday night in a win over Palatine. “We played really real hard. I thought we gutted it out but you just can’t miss that many free throws and give up that many offensive opportunities against a good team.

“But we’ll get there. I’m confident that these girls will continue to work hard and execute the way they need to.”

Maine West 77, Brooks 58: St. Xavierrecruit Brittany Collins recorded a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds as the host Warriors improved to 13-8 in the nonconference win in Des Plaines.

Collins’ front line partner and classmate Julia Huinker, a St. Francis Joliet recruit, added 17 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists while teammates Abbey Herling and Kelly Adamek chipped in 9 and 6 points, respectively.

Adamek also collected 10 rebounds. Monica Liwag and Herling (5 assists) also had 6 rebounds.

Niles West 42, Schaumburg 28: The visiting Saxons were led by freshman Mallory Gerber (12 points, 5 rebounds) in the nonconference game in Skokie.

Junior Brittany Reinhart grabbed 9 rebounds and freshman Laura O’Connell 8 for the Saxons (5-15).