Fremd's depth sinks Schaumburg

Fremd's girls basketball team is ranked No. 3 among the Class 4A schools in Illinois for many reasons.

One is the Vikings' depth, and that was once again on display in an impressive 63-25 Mid-Suburban West victory on Friday night at Schaumburg.

Coach Dave Yates got all 16 of his available players into the contest which ended with Viking sophomore reserves Emilija Peleckas and Haley Williams each converting layups in the game's final minute.

“We have good depth,” said Yates, whose team improved to 15-2 and 4-0. “We have a lot of kids who can play so it is tricky getting them all into the game.”

The game started out with Fremd racing to a 15-0 in less than five minutes as senior all-stater Haley Gorecki scored 7 of her game-high 24 points during the run.

Gorecki also had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.

But Schaumburg (7-9, 1-3) responded with its own 11-0 run that included three baskets from 6-foot-4 senior Tatiana Doroskin (8 points) and a 3-pointer by junior Paige Alt.

Doroskin's third basket, a rebound 6-footer, made it 15-11 with 6:20 left in the first half.

But the five-time defending MSL West champs said enough is enough and closed the quarter with a 13-4 run to lead 28-15 at intermission.

The Vikes then put on a standout closing act by outscoring the Saxons 35-10 in the final two quarters.

Especially impressive were the first few minutes of the final period when Fremd score 13 points in the first three minutes.

Sophomore Grace Tworek scored 6 of her career-high 12 points during the run.

Tworek also grabbed 8 rebounds with 5 assists and 4 steals in her second game back after missing nearly a month with a bone bruise in her knee.

“Grace is doing a good job in practice,” Yates said. “So it's good to see her carry it over into the game.”

“It just feels like we are clicking just like before I got hurt,” Tworek said. ‘Our team is really close so playing with whoever is on the floor is easy.”

Junior Julia Wacker made the most of her time on the floor, coming off the bench to grab 6 rebounds.

“Our bench is really deep and that helps,” said the 6-2 junior forward. “We all connect so well so it's really fun to be out there with anyone.”

Senior Emily Bieda came off the bench and connected with a beautiful lob pass to junior Bryana Hopkins (7 points, 2 rebounds), who converted the 6-footer during Fremd's 20-run in the second half.

Juniors Erin Lenahan (2 steals) and Amanda McCartney each connected from 3-point land to help extend the fourth-quarter lead.

“We talked about playing with a little more energy in the second half,” Yates said. “We had only two team fouls in the first half. We talked about being more aggressive.”

Junior guard Brianna Lewis chipped in 8 points with 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals for the Vikings.

Senior Jada Blackwell, back from illness which sidelined her from the Hersey game a week ago, led the Saxons with 10 points and 7 rebounds while classmate Brittany Reinhart collected 4 steals.

“The girls showed a lot of heart and resolve,” said Schaumburg coach Curtis Goodwin. “It would have been easy to quit after falling behind 15-0. But they stuck with it and stayed the course.

“I thought as a team we played hard. Fremd just made a couple of runs that we could not overcome. They're a great defensive team.”

The Vikes return to their home floor today for a 7 p.m. game in their own Chicagoland Invitational Showcase 2015.

They face Heritage Christian (Ind.), which is ranked among the top twenty teams in the ESPNW Power 25 national rankings. The Indiana powerhouse features juniors Tyasha Harris (point guard) and Darby Foresman (power forward), who are ranked among the top juniors in the nation, and guard Katlyn Gilbert, rated as one of the top freshman in the country.