Fremd turns back Zion-Benton
Fremd, the state's No. 4-ranked girls basketball team in Class 4A, kicked off its postseason on Tuesday with a 55-44 victory over No. 16-seeded Zion-Benton in the Lake Forest regional semifinal.
The Vikes led 16-15 after one quarter and 31-25 at intermission.
"They (Zion) are the best No. 16 seed in the state," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "They have a 32-point win over the ninth seed (Lake Forest) in our sectional and a 17-point win over the eighth seed (Libertyville) in our sectional and somehow were a 16 seed."
The Vikings (23-4), seeded No. 1 in the Palatine sectional, advance to Thursday's regional championship to meet Libertyville, which defeated Lake Forest 76-70 in two overtimes in the other semifinal on Tuesday.
Senior Haley Gorecki led Fremd with 30 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.
Senior Bryana Hopkins added 10 points while senior Brianna Lewis had 7 and sophomore Grace Tworek 6.
Tworek also grabbed 9 rebounds while Hopkins had 5.
"We knew coming in this was not going to be your typical No. 1-vs.-16 game," Yates said. "We were going to play a good team right out of the gate. They played very well and pushed us for four quarters."
Yates felt his team fouled too much and missed about too many layups.
"When you do that, you are going to get a close game," he said. "Credit Zion Benton. Every time we pushed the lead to 6 or 7 points, they had an answer.
"I thought we showed good composure and made the right plays down the stretch to win the game."
Hersey 54, Barrington 39: At the Grayslake Central Class 4A regional semifinal, sophomore Claire Gritt scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead the No. 3 Huskies (22-6).
Hersey also received 13 points and 9 rebounds from senior Juliette Vainisi while senior Annie Korff added 11 points and 7 boards.
Junior Maggie Berigan pulled down 8 rebounds for the winners and sophomore Kelly Weyhrich handed out 5 assists.
Hersey, which advanced to Thursday's 7 p.m. regional final against Wheeling, led the entire way.
The Huskies were up 17-7 after one quarter and 28-19 at halftime. They maintained their 9-point advantage (39-30) entering the fourth.
No. 14 Barrington (11-18) was led by Bailee McDonald's 9 points.
Loyola 43, Maine West 30: Freshmen Allison Pearson (9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Catherine Johnson (6 points, 9 rebounds) and Jessica Riedl (6 rebounds) were among the leaders for the No. 9-seeded Warriors, who finished their season at 8-20 after falling in the semifinals of their own Class 4A regional.
No. 6 Loyola will face No. 3 Evanston for the title on Thursday at 7 p.m.
York 58, Hoffman Estates 47: Tayler Williams (12 points), Erin Hanson (11), Mary Saitta (11) and Jennifer Nailor (7) were top scoters for the No. 18-seeded Hawks, who finished the season at 6-21 after falling in the semifinals of the Wheaton North Class 4A regional to No. 3 York.