Lindell's on target as Palatine edges out Fremd

Nancy Zoros Lindell was an all-state guard for Niles West in the early 1980s.

While she made plenty of huge shots for coach Gene Earl's team, Zoros never made one to win a game like she watched her daughter do on Tuesday night.

With one second left, senior Kendra Lindell fired home a 16-footer from the right side to lift Palatine's girls basketball team to a dramatic 43-42 triumph over crosstown rival Fremd, which had won the first meeting between the two teams 35-34 in December.

The Pirates (17-6, 5-2) remained tied for first in the Mid-Suburban West with Conant (8-14, 5-2), while Fremd (14-11) is tied for second with Barrington at 4-3.

Making Lindell's shot all the more stunning was that Fremd had taken its first lead of the game at 42-41 when junior Angie Zara connected for a 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds left.

Following a time out, Pirates senior guard Kacie Filian picked up the rolling inbounds pass and raced down the court to set up the final play.

As she dribbled toward the right side, she alertly dished the ball off when she faced a double team coming off a screen from Jenny Myslinski.

"Kacie tossed it to me and I knew time was running out," said Lindell, who had 4 points and 5 assists. "Jenny set the screen for Kacie and I was in the corner. Somehow Kacie and I switched and she passed it out to me. I threw it up and was hoping it would go in."

She got her wish, and the seven Pirates seniors were in seventh heaven on their senior night.

"It's crazy," said Lindell after posing with her fellow classmates after the game. "I can't believe this. It's definitely the biggest shot of my career."

A shot that came seconds after Fremd had made up an 11-point halftime deficit with Zara's 3-pointer.

"Angie Zara (10 points) had a huge shot and it takes a lot of moxie to hit a shot like that in that situation," said Palatine coach Mark Johnson. "To win these games, it's never easy."

The Pirates jumped ahead 11-0 with senior Tiana Henderson scoring 7 of her team-high 13 points and Sydney Rzepka getting 4.

"We had a great start to the basketball game," Johnson said. "Tiana Henderson was unbelievable. Everything we did was right.

"But we knew they were going to start chipping away. They made some nice baskets, took advantage of some poor defense by us and then we stopped boxing out."

A layup by freshman Grace LaBarge and 2 free throws by Zara tied the game at 35-35 with 5:59 left in the game.

Senior Anja Jacobsen (11 points, three 3-pointers) gave Palatine the lead back with 3-pointer before sophomore Ella Burns made a long drive for a layup that cut the deficit to 38-37.

Myslinski, though, brought the Pirates fans to their feet with a huge 3-pointer from the corner for a 41-37 lead with 3:39 left.

Two free throws by Fremd freshman Ruthie Montella (team-high 11 points) with 1:30 left made it 41-39 before Zara eventually gave the Vikings their only lead with her 3-pointer that had the visiting team's fans in a frenzy.

"I'm really proud of our kids," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "We got down early and were in a big hole. Like the old saying, we brought an 11-foot ladder to a 12-foot hole. I'm proud of the kids' comeback. We outplayed them in the second, third and fourth quarter but they hit the last shot."

Sophomore Emily Klaczek chipped in 8 points for Fremd and classmate Olivia Hill had 6.

"Angie (Zara) hit a huge one for us and then we defended their last one," Yates said. "Their girl (Lindell) hit a contested shot. I'm proud of our kids for hanging in there, battling and always believing we had a chance to win the game."

But Lindell's big shot erased that chance.

"Kendra hit a big shot for us at the end," Johnson said. "We've been counting on her for so much all season.

"Jenny (Myslinski) set a nice screen and Kacie ran down and tried to split between Sydney and Kendra. Sydney was covered and I figured they would think we'd try to get her the ball. So I wanted Kacie to get it in the hands of Kendra and have her attack. It worked and she hit the shot."

A shot that put an exclamation mark on senior night for Filian, Henderson, Jacobsen, Sarah Jasonowicz, Lindell, Myslinski and Rzepka.

"We had alumni here, former coaches here and tons of support from people in the community," Johnson said. "It was great and they were all a huge part of why we did this."

"Credit to Palatine," said Yates, whose team will try to snap a three-game West losing streak on Friday after starting out 4-0. "They (Palatine) stepped up and made the plays. They're a good team, a veteran team. I feel like that's what were aspiring to do - get to the point where we can come back, take the lead and finish.

"I would say there's a little parity on both sides of our conference (West and East). Every night is a battle and I think our girls are beginning to understand that."