Hersey outmatches Fremd
Hersey girls basketball coach Mary Fendley texted her players their individual match-ups on Sunday night for Tuesday's game with visiting Fremd.
Then the Huskies went out and pushed all the right buttons against the Vikings, considered by some as the No. 1 team in the Chicago area before the season started.
Hersey (5-1) took the lead midway through the first quarter and led all the way to finish in a 47-43 triumph that gained them all their confidence back after a 66-49 loss at Buffalo Grove on Saturday.
"We just needed to regroup and get back at it," said 5-foot-8 senior Juliette Vainisi, who was at Haley Gorecki's side for 32 minutes trying to slow down the all-state guard (game-high 22 points, 8 steals) headed to Duke.
Vainisi also found time to lead the Huskies with 13 points, followed by Annie Korff (11 points, 9 rebounds), Claire Gritt (10 points, two 3-pointers) and Maggie Berigan (8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks).
"She's really a good player," Vainisi said of Gorecki, who also had 3 rebounds and 3 assists. "I was just trying to keep pressure on her at all times. I was told just to stay on her and not help anywhere else on defense."
Berigan helped the Huskies' cause immensely when she sank 2 free throws left 7.5 second left to give Hersey the 47-43 margin.
Fremd (6-1), which trailed by as many as 13 points late in the second quarter, was down by 8 early in the fourth period.
The Vikes got to within 45-43 on sophomore Grace Tworek's rebound layup with 19.2 seconds left.
Fremd then forced a turnover on the inbounds pass but missed an outside shot and Berigan was fouled seconds later.
"We do pressure free throws in practice every day," Berigan said. "So I was just confident.
"We just came back to practice on Monday and all worked hard. I thought it was our best practice of the season."
It was great timing because the Huskies knew they would need their best effort of the season going up against the two-time defending Mid-Suburban League champs .
"I'm really proud of the girls and they should be proud of themselves," said Fendley, whose offense received 8 assists from sophomore guard Kelly Weyhrich. "How often do you get a chance to play team like this? And they took full advantage of the opportunity."
Missed opportunities cost the Vikings, according to Fremd coach Dave Yates.
"We missed on multiple opportunities," he said. "We missed layups. We turned the ball over. We've got work to do.
"And credit Hersey. They made plays. They came ready to play. They made shots."
Junior Brianna Lewis made a shot from 3-point land that got Fremd to within 19-13 early in the second quarter.
But the Huskies held the Vikes without a basket until Gorecki twisted her way to the basket for a bank shot with 1:12 left in the half. That got Fremd to within 28-17.
Gorecki followed with a 3-point play to make it 28-20 before Berigan leaned in for a 6-footer just before the halftime buzzer.
"Obviously, we were trying to slow down Haley Gorecki," Berigan said. "She's a great player and everyone knows it. Juliette did a great job guarding her and the whole defense picked it up."
Sophomore Gina Miklasz and senior Kristen Jackson came off the bench to provide valuable minutes for Hersey.
"All five starters did exactly what they were told to do," Fendley said. "Kristen came in and made a difference and Gina always does what she is supposed to do.
"We all took blame for our loss (Saturday) and we felt we were coming into this game without a lot of pressure. Everyone knows how good Fremd is."
Tworek (4 rebounds) finished with 9 points for Fremd while Lewis added 6 with 3 steals and an assist. Teammates Lauren Glaser had 4 rebounds while Bryana Hopkins had 2 rebounds and an assist.
"We can't play like this and expect to beat anyone," Yates said. "I felt we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game at the end. But you can't play the way we did for three quarters and expect to win."
Hersey's win saw the Huskies make 10 of 12 free throws, all in the second half (Korff was 4-of-4).
The Huskies return to the Ken Carter Gymnasium to host undefeated Prospect (5-0) in Friday's Mid-Suburban East opener. It is the first game (6 p.m.) of a boys-girls doubleheader.
"Now we must bring this same energy to the game against Prospect," said Vainisi, who also had 3 assists.