Hersey enjoys family-style victory over Buffalo Grove
When the deck was finally shuffled, Hersey's girls basketball team finished with three of a kind in a winning hand on Friday morning.
In the final minutes of their 45-28 victory over Buffalo Grove in the Bison Classic, the Huskies had triplets on the floor (seniors Katie, Erin and Sarah McGrath), who all played at St. James in Arlington Heights.
Coincidentally, they were paired on the floor with another St. James graduate, freshman guard Mary Kate Fahey.
The fifth player was St. Emily (Mt. Prospect) product Claire Rogowski, who was an ace performer on Saturday with a game-high 13 points and 8 rebounds.
"They're so versatile and it's so cool to see how much all their hard work pays off," said Rogowski of the triplets. "It's such a rare opportunity to not only have three sisters on the same team, but to have triplets, and all of them on the floor at the same time is just a testament to all their hard work."
The Huskies worked their way to a 17-4 lead.
Buffalo Grove was able to get back into the game late in the third quarter but the Huskies found their stride again and pulled away to even their record at 2-2 in the Bison Classic, which wraps up Saturday.
Katie McGrath ended up with 8 points and game-high 11 rebounds while Erin had a first-quarter basket and 2 free throws in the final quarter.
"It's fun to see all three of them out there," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley of the McGraths.
Bison fans had fun seeing 5-foot-8 junior guard Heidi Schmit (8 points) come off the bench and hit back-to-back 3s to make it 29-21 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.
"That was great," said Bison coach Steve Kolodziej. "We were looking for someone, and she (Schmit) comes in and knocks down three shots (layup in fourth quarter, too). We got it to within single digits in that run and then we just couldn't sustain it."
Schmit's 3s capped a 10-0 run that included a 3 from Kendra Lee and a free throw by junior guard Jackie Bickhaus (7 points).
"We had a little criss-cross there defensively (on Schmit) and she stepped up and hit those 3s," Fendley said. "They made that nice run in the third and we were able to come back afterward."
The Huskies came back with back-to-back layups by senior Maesyn Benjamin (9 points), one coming off a steal and assist from Erin McGrath.
The Huskies took control with a 6-3 run to start the fourth quarter, getting a swooping bank shot by Katie McGrath, and 2 free throws apiece from Erin McGrath and Rogowski, who ws 8-of-8 from the line.
"We stayed consistent, kept our tempo, and our pace," said Rogowski, who also had a 3 in the second quarter. "We didn't get fazed by their transition points and fast breaks. We just stuck with and believed in each other. We stayed confident with each other even through the ups and downs."
"This is a good momentum boost for us. We're on the right track, heading in the right direction."
Sophomore Sydney Hemneway and junior Emily Collins also made it into the scoring column for Hersey.
"Claire was asked to handle the ball maybe more than she expected to," Fendley added. "But Emily was in foul trouble so Claire and Syd both stepped up to handle the ball along with MK (Mary Kate Fahey, who had 5 points).
"It was fun. They (Buffalo Grove) had a hard time making shots and we kind of took advantage of it. We missed a bunch ourselves at the start of the game but then they started falling a little. This was the first game where we had a handful of points in transition, so that was nice to see."
Kolodziej obviously would have liked to have seen a few more shots drop.
"We struggled to find the bottom of the basket," said Kolodziej whose club (0-4) missed three shots on its first possession of the game.
"We did a good job defensively. The second quarter got away from us a little. Our goal is 10 points a quarter. To finish at 45 is a pretty good effort.
"I told our kids I don't believe in luck. You make your own luck. So we've just got to keep grinding, and keep working on finishing around the rim. We had plenty of good looks."
"It's hard. We're struggling now. I told the group not to be discouraged right now and we'll get there. We're getting better. It's a long season and hopefully we can find some improvement as we go. We'll just keep working."