Fremd tips Conant to clinch MSL West tie
Fremd's defense and offensive spurts in the second half were the difference in the Vikings' 53-44 girls basketball victory over Conant Wednesday night in Palatine.
With the win the Vikings clinched a tie in the Mid-Suburban West and are now 21-4 and 7-0. Conant dropped to 9-12 and 4-3 in conference play.
"We defended better in the second half," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "They made some good shots in the first half and we knew they were capable of doing that."
The Cougars stuck like glue to Fremd in the first half by hitting on five 3-pointers in trailing 17-15 after the first quarter and 29-28 at the halftime break.
Hannah Shulman hit three 3-pointers in the first half and Stephanie Mazurek, who led Conant with 11 points, scored 7 in the first quarter.
The Cougars turned the ball over 7 times in the first quarter but the Vikings could convert just 2 points from them.
Things changed in the second half for both teams.
While Conant had long possessions it didn't have the looks it had in the first half.
"It hurt when we had good possessions but then we couldn't hit the shots," said Conant coach Todd Strauch. "Fremd did a good job upping their pressure. I think at times we handled their pressure but we couldn't take advantage of it. Our looks were not as good as in the first half."
Junior Olivia Hill, who led the Vikings with 15 points, started heating up by hitting two 3-pointers in the third quarter. Her second tied the score at 36 with 4:34 left in the quarter on an assist by Angie Zara.
Freshman Brianna Woodridge (11 points, 4 rebounds) hit back-to-back baskets on assists from Ruthie Montella to give Fremd a 40-36 lead. Montella finished the 8-0 run with a basket of her own and a 42-36 lead.
Ella Burns' third 3-pointer started another 8-0 run after the Cougars. Chikere Oduocha (8 points, 8 rebounds) scored for Conant to start the fourth quarter.
Woodridge followed with a 3-point play and Hill finished the run with a drive to the basket.
"Conant played well and made some plays in the first half. They put up a good fight. Now, we don't want to take any losses in our last three conference games," said Hill. "We missed out last year playing in the championship and we broke our streak and it was a big bummer for us. We want to make it to the Mid-Suburban championship game."
Burns hit her three 3-pointers at critical times.
"She's a good outside shooter for us," said Hill about Burns. "She's had games for us where she's hit some big shots."
"Ella's been hitting like that for the last month for us," said Yates. "I think she's one of the best shooters in the area."