Hersey gets going against Buffalo Grove

Saturday matinees haven't exactly been show-stoppers for Hersey's girls basketball team.

So the Huskies set their alarm clocks a littler earlier for a pregame rehearsal.

The minor twist in plot seemed to be the right ticket as the Huskies pulled out a key 56-48 Mid-Suburban East triumph on their own Ken Carter stage over visiting Buffalo Grove.

"I got some texts from the girls that they wanted to come in a little early to shoot around," said Hersey veteran coach Mary Fendley, whose team raised its record to 13-4 and 3-1. "They were anxious to avenge their loss to Buffalo Grove earlier in the season.

"Buffalo Grove really got after us that day (in a 66-49 Bison win). It left a bad taste in the girls' mouths. I'm glad they came back this game."

Senior Annie Korff came back with a team-high 18 points while sophomore Claire Gritt, a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line, and junior Maggie Berigan, each chipped in 12.

"We had a little history of not playing so well in these Saturday afternoon games," said Korff, who also grabbed 5 rebounds with 3 blocked shots. "I think because the game is later in the day we tend to get up later and we are just too relaxed. We took the initiative to get up earlier and have some activity earlier in the day."

That activity carried over to the floor, especially in the fourth quarter when the Huskies used a 2-3 zone to put the clamps on BG and outscore the visitors 17-10.

Maddie Welter's step-back 3-pointer gave BG it last lead at 38-37 with 1:44 left in the third quarter.

Hersey then went on a 12-3 lead to take control, with Korff starting the rally with 2 free throws and a driving bank shot.

"Our zone helped us stop them from driving and we knew we had to get out on them to stop their outside shooting," Korff said.

Neither team led by more than 4 points in the first half until 2 free throws by Gritt made it 24-19 in favor of the Huskies with 3:12 left.

But BG (12-5, 2-2) tied it at 24-24 on a free throw by Sammy Stejskal, who scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the first half.

"Sammy was a beast," said BG coach Steve Kolodziej of his 5-foot-11 junior who also pulled down 7 rebounds. "I thought Natali Dimitrova (10 rebounds) gave us great minutes off the bench. She played Berigan tough inside."

Berigan grabbed 10 rebounds for another double-double and the 6-0 forward blocked 4 shots while teammate Gina Miklasz, a 5-5 sophomore, handed out 4 assists.

"And I thought Kelly Weyhrich (6 points) did a nice job handling the ball for us," Fendley said.

Senior Juliette Vainisi, who also chipped in 6 points, converted a free throw to give Hersey a 25-24 lead at intermission.

Neither team led by more than 2 points in the second half until Hersey went ahead 41-38 on Korff's bucket to start the fourth quarter.

Weyhrich's driving layup were the final points in Hersey's 12-3 run and gave the Huskies a 49-41 lead with 2:50 left in the game.

Maddie Welter contributed 14 points for BG while senior Julia Jambrone added 9, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half.

"The kids played hard and that's all I can ask," Kolodziej said. "Unfortunately we weren't making our shots."

The Bison were 13-of-35 on 2-pointers and 4-of-21 on 3s.

"That's 17-of-56 for 28 percent," Kolodziej said. "And we still only loss by 8 points to a good team like Hersey. We make a few more shots and it's a different game. And I thought we rebounded well.

"I can't fault the effort. This is a tough conference. We'll be OK if we give this effort all the time."

The Bison and Huskies return to action Sunday at the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase 2015 at Fremd High School. BG faces Lake Zurich at 3:15 p.m. and Hersey meets Joliet Catholic at 4:30 p.m.