Eidle, Hersey make easy work of Rolling Meadows
A few weeks ago, after a win over Lake Forest, Hersey freshman guard Meghan Mrowicki noted the key to the Huskies' success was everyone being on the same page.
Five games later, the Huskies are still scripting a nifty chapter to this 2019-20 season.
They booked their 11th straight win on Friday night and it got them to within one victory of a third appearance in the Mid-Suburban League girls basketball championship game in four years.
Led by freshman Katy Eidle's fifth straight game of 23 or more points, Hersey rolled past visiting Rolling Meadows 66-40 to improve to 8-1 in the Mid-Suburban East, tied for first with Buffalo Grove (15-10, 8-1) with one game left.
However, the Huskies (22-6) have clinched the tiebreaker that determines who plays in the title game so a win over Wheeling on Tuesday would give them the berth in the Feb. 12 showcase event.
The host team will be Fremd, which won its 10th division title in 11 years by defeating Barrington 41-37 on Friday.
Eidle finished with a game-high 24 points while junior teammate Mary McGrath added 16 with 11 rebounds.
"It's so exciting," McGrath said of the chance to clinch a spot in the title game. "Winning all these games in a row just motivates us even more. Each time we get a win now, we're just that more excited for the next one."
Junior Mary Kate Fahey (5 assists) added 8 points. Senior Jordan Carlquist added 7 and her twin sister Jessie chipped in 5. Junior Natalia Kubsik matched McGrath's 11 rebounds. Eidle had 4 steals and Mrowicki made three.
"A great team effort," added McGrath, who got the Huskies rolling by hitting a 3-pointer and a 12-foot pullup jumper for a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Jordan Carlquist's 16-footer near the free-throw line made it 7-0.
A rebound layup by Fahey extended the advantage to 11-4 before Eidel followed with 10 straight points (including a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers) to make it 21-4.
The Huskies did not give up a field goal until Susannah's Holifield's layup with 3.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
"They're definitely one of the best teams we've played this year," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky of the state-ranked Huskies. "I thought they were really cooking tonight."
The Huskies have been on a roll since defeating Geneva in their fourth and final game of the Montini Christmas tournament.
"We all know how good Geneva always is," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "I think to start a win streak against them and just continue to get better really shows how we've started to figure things out.
"I know we have a lot of juniors but our freshmen are playing like juniors in that they don't hesitate anymore in our offense and they're both so talented defensively. I think that's telling about how we're meshing as a team."
Junior Madi Niedbala led Meadows (12-9, 4-4) with 16 points, followed by Bridget Rolla (7), Sam Elenz (6) and Emily Galvan (5).
"We didn't compete very well in the first half," Kirkorsky added. "We challenged our kids in the second half and I thought they responded to that.
" I thought Sam Elenz and Alison Sellergren had nice games for us and played aggressively."
Fendley's club reports right back to the Carter Gymnasium on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. nonconference matinee with Glenbrook South.
"Every team makes mistakes but we are not making conceptual mistakes," Fendley said. "The kids have really figured out where we're trying to make things happen and obviously it doesn't hurt that we a have a player averaging 25 points the last five games."
The Huskies' defense created numerous turnovers to build it first-half lead.
"A lot of deflections," Fendey said. "And I love seeing them because it means they are working so hard so that another kid is usually getting the steals off them. And we're getting those (deflections) all over the place."