First things first, as Fremd focuses on New Trier

It's been a season of firsts for the Fremd girls basketball team.

And for this latest one, the Vikings have been waiting 38 years.

They are appearing in the IHSA final four for the first time since 1977 when they take the floor at 8:15 p.m. Friday against New Trier at Illinois State's Redbird Arena.

Earlier this season, the Vikings took their first team trip via air travel when they played in a tournament in Arizona. A few weeks later, they became the school's first basketball team to play on a Sunday in their own Chicagoland Classic tournament.

Now, they are going for their first state title.

Coincidentally, the Vikes were right next door to Redbird Arena in the inaugural 1977 event, in the still-standing Horton Field House. Fremd finished fourth that season under Hall of Fame coach Carol Plodzien.

Current coach Dave Yates, the only other person to direct Fremd's program, is in his eighth season and brings the school's winningest team (28-4) to Normal

The Vikes will face a New Trier team boasting a 30-1 record, with its only loss to Mid-Suburban East champion Prospect, 51-46 in the championship game of the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.

Like Huntley, which Fremd defeated in the Hoffman Estates supersectional, New Trier is led by a talented - and tall - junior center. The highly recruited 6-foot-3 Jeannie Boehm averages 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds for coach Teri Rodgers, a former Libertyville all-area guard who went on to play at Duke.

Rodgers (428-135 in 17 seasons) has led New Trier to the Elite Eight twice, taking third in 2001 and second in 2004.

Fremd went against 6-2 Illinois recruit Ali Andrews (17 points) in Monday's supersectional.

"The biggest thing is trying to contain Boehm," Yates said. "But they have other perimeter people who can score."

Junior guard Haley Greer has tossed in 45 3-pointers for the Trevians while classmate Kathryn Pedi has 35. Greer also leads the team with 139 assists while Pedi has 69. One of Pedi's came with less than three seconds left to lift the Trevians to a 42-39 victory at Hersey in early January.

Hersey, along with Benet, are the only two teams from Illinois who have defeated Fremd this seaon. The Vikes' other losses are to national powers Brighton Horizon, Colo., and Heritage Christian, Ind.

Senior Jackie Welch is another outside threat for New Trier with her 20 3-pointers. She is also an excellent distributor of the basketball with 73 assists.

"We've watched a lot of film on them and we are trying to prepare for the things they do," Yates said. "I think it's too late for either team to change a lot of things they've done all season."

What the Vikings have done is get clutch play from all five starters and the bench as well.

Duke recruit Haley Gorecki (22 points per game) led Fremd in scoring in every regular season game except for a game against Hoffman Estates, when she tied with Bryana Hopkins (16 points apiece).

Hopkins, who is headed to Northwestern, averages 9.9 points. Close behind in scoring are Brianna Lewis (9.4), Grace Tworek (5.8) and Erin Lenahan (5.2). Julia Wacker, Amanda McCartney and Lauren Glaser have been among Fremd's top reserves.

• Fremd coach Dave Yates, who owns a career record of 192-80, is trying to become the first coach from District 211 to win a state title in girls basketball. The most recent D211 coach to take a team to the state finals was Tom Kendall in 1990, when the Hawks took fourth place in Champaign.

Kendall was assisted by Bob Kaplan that season and the team was led by all-area team captain Erin Ingwersen, who went on to playt at Ohio State.

Yates, who played basketball at St. Edward High School, is assisted by Courtney Ludois (Rockton Hononegah), James Han (who played on Schaumburg's 2001 state championship team), Steve Hernandez (Waucounda) and Maddie Swan (Hersey).

Ludois (Weibel), whose father Randy is the head girls basketball coach at Rockton Hononegah, starred at Marquette after setting a national high school record with 471 career 3-pointers.

• Fremd is the first team from the Mid-Suburban West to play in the state finals. When Hoffman Estates was fourth in 1990, it was in the Mid-Suburban South. The MSL went to East and West divisions in 1998.

• Fremd is the eighth MSL team in the last 10 years to play downstate. The others are Buffalo Grove (2006-'08), Wheeling (2010), Hersey (2011) and Rolling Meadows (2013 and 2014).

The only MSL state championship teams came from Elk Grove (1981) and Buffalo Grove (2000).