Perfect matchup as Buffalo Grove, Fremd decide MSL title

The stage has been set for another Mid-Suburban League girls basketball championship.

And the 43rd one has been set with perfection.

West champion Fremd (23-2) and East champion Buffalo Grove (22-4) put up 10-0 records in their respective divisions.

They will tip off for the MSL crown at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fremd High School in Palatine.

For Fremd, it has been something of a common occurrence as the Vikings have been perfect the last three years and are making a record seventh straight appearance in the showcase event.

For Buffalo Grove, it's the first appearance since 2007 when the Bison were also undefeated.

The two teams met in early January when Fremd recorded a 54-37 victory on the Bison floor.

"I think the last game featured two tired teams that had just finished up very tough Christmas tournaments (BG was third at Dundee-Crown, and Fremd went 2-1 in Florida)," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "So you had two teams pretty fatigued and the play reflected that. I expect a much better showing from both teams this time."

Time after time, BG has shown it can connect from the outside. In fact, Maddie Welter set the school record with eight 3-pointers against Elk Grove.

Welter broke the MSL East record for 3-pointers (37) in a conference season, formerly held by Gabrielle Cottrell Lovin, now the Prospect coach.

"Buffalo Grove is very balanced and they present some real matchup problems," said Yates, who played basketball at St. Edward High School and Elmhurst College. "All of their players can shoot so they keep your defense honest.

"I think you hope for an off shooting night because when they are on, they are very tough to beat."

Fremd, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the Associated Press poll released Tuesday afternoon, has been one of the toughest teams in the state to beat. In fact, only one team in the state has defeated the Vikings. Morgan Park, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, defeated Fremd 61-57 on Jan. 6 in Palatine.

"They (Fremd) are a talented team, with a lot of depth," said BG coach Steve Kolodziej. "It's a matter of us understanding what we are trying to accomplish defensively and working together to make that happen."

The Bison make things happen offensively, led by Welter (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), senior Sammy Stejskal (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), senior Natali Dimitrova (9 points, 7 rebounds) and junior Georgette Topalis (8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals).

Rounding out the Bison are senior Amanda Kowalski (Butler soccer recruit), junior Megan Gamber, sophomore Alyssa Floro, junior Hannah Cole, senior Cassie Berman, junior Kendall Prochaska, senior Jenna Cardaras, sophomore Sammy Fanella and junior Kaela Drum.

Fremd has three Division I recruits in its lineup - senior Bryana Hopkins (Northwestern), senior Brianna Lewis (Texas Southern) and junior Grace Tworek (Harvard).

Seniors Erin Lenahan (Maryville University) and Julia Wacker (Hillside College) are D-II recruits. Classmate Amanda McCartney is headed to D-III Elmhurst.

Completing the Vikings' roster are senior Lauren Glaser, junior Midori Williams, junior Hayley Williams, senior Jenna Simios, junior Anna LaValle, junior Natalie Connors and junior Missy Adrian.

Lenahan and Lewis (13.2 ppg) are playing in their fourth straight title game while Hopkins (13.8 ppg), Tworek (10.0 ppg), Glaser and Wacker are appearing in a third straight.

"I know our kids look forward to this game each year," Yates said. "It is a goal of ours to reach this game every year. We have a very experienced group and many will not have this opportunity again so I know they are very excited to play this game."

No current Viking has lost in this game. Fremd's four straight wins 1974 to 1977 under coach Carol Plodzien are a record.

BG won three in a row from 1996 to 1998 under coach Tom Dineen.

"It's a game our girls have dreamed of playing in since their days of feeder basketball," said Kolodziej, who quarterbacked Schaumburg to the 1999 Class 6A state football title game. "It's an honor to represent the MSL East as it's a great division with a lot of good basketball teams in it."

BG won twice over East runner-up Hersey, which was state ranked most of the season and has wins over state-ranked Huntley and New Trier.

The Bison were 3-2 in their own Thanksgiving tourney and took third at Dundee-Crown.

"We tend to try and break the season up and live in the moment," Kolodziej said. "We did some great things against Friday against Wheeling (a 54-35 win). However, I don't think we have reached our full potential yet. We are close."

Yates sees things the same way with his club.

"I think we are always trying to get better and we believe that we have many things to continue to get better at even at this point in the season," he said. "That being said, we have been playing well recently so I hope this continues into the postseason."

The 2015 Class 4A runners-up hope the title game once again helps prepare them for the state playoffs.

"The chance to play a game in front of a big crowd in a championship atmosphere is a great opportunity that we hope to use to our advantage come regional and sectional time," Yates said.

Fremd is one of only three teams (Stevenson and Hersey) to hold BG under 40 points this season.

Dimitrova led the Bison in the first matchup with 12 points, and no other Bison had more than 6.

"I don't think it's a matter of stopping Fremd," Kolodziej said. "It's a matter of us trying to limit some of the things they do extremely well.

"It certainly doesn't hurt our chances having seen them before. That was a great test in the middle of the season to see where we were as a team."

Kolodziej said his players learned a lot from that game.

"Certainly, I think we have improved on some of our weaknesses since then," he added. "And we look forward to the challenge again."