Fremd rallies to knock off Fenwick
Even though Fremd was coming off it first two losses of the season, the Vikings fashioned third-quarter rallies from double-digit deficits against Nazareth and Mother McAuley to take the lead or tie those games.
Once again on Saturday, the state-ranked Vikings found themselves down by double digits at halftime against a 16-5 Fenwick team that lost 43-42 to state power Montini the night before.
However, Fremd changed the script this time by finishing a rally for a dramatic 46-43 triumph at the Chicagoland Invitational Girls Basketball Showcase at Benet Academy in Lisle.
Trailing 31-18 with 6:25 left in third quarter, junior Olivia Hill's 3-pointer gave Fremd (18-2) the lead for good at 32-31 with 1:20 left in the period.
Hill's big shot was part of a 19-1 run capped by Emily Klaczek's 3-point play with 7:47 left in the final period that made it 37-31.
Although hall of fame coach Dave Power's Friars would never lead again, they kept things close. They had a chance to tie the game when Angela Zara stepped up with a big steal and layup that gave the Vikes a 44-40 lead with 1:18 left.
"That was a huge steal," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "And we needed someone to kind of turn the tide like that and keep them far enough away so we could win it."
"We just wanted a stop there - the rest of my teammates made that steal possible," said the modest Zara, the only senior on the Fremd's roster.
Fenwick got to within 44-43, converting the first of two free throw attempts with 9.2 seconds left. Fremd sophomore Ruthie Montella (7 points) ran down the rebound on the second one and was fouled. She calmly made both of her free throws with 6.6 seconds left to seal the verdict.
Freshman Brianna Wooldridge (6 rebounds) scored Fremd's first 6 points of the second half, using a variety of moves under the basket.
Wooldridge and Klaczek, each finished with 11 points while Hill finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds.
During the big 19-1 rally, Zara had a pair of fastbreak layups.
"I thought Emily was really in control," Yates said. "And Bri and Angela really gave us a good lift in that third quarter making layups. We missed so many in the first half. We just needed for some to go down and then we started getting back into the game."
Fremd outscored Fenwick 18-3 in the third quarter, holding the Friars scoreless in the final six minutes.
"That's been our M.O. lately," Yates said of the Vikes' quality play in the third quarter. "So the positive thing is that our kids have some resiliency. They didn't give up. When things weren't going our way in the first half, a lot of it was our own fault. I think it's really promising that we can come out in the second half and turn things around. That's a good sign."
Klaczek (4 assists, 4 rebounds) earned the tourney's MVP award for Fremd.
"It feels great to get this win," she said. "It was really important because we were down in our last two games and fought back. We fought back again and won this time so it was a big growing point for us."
"We didn't like the way played in the first half," Zara added. "We still have to work on our starts to games but we are still really proud of our third quarters."