Fremd takes it to Libertyville

Posted February 24, 2020 12:00 am

By Bill McLean Daily Herald Correspondent

Libertyville's Emily Fisher eyes the basket guarded by Fremd's Grace LaBarge (4) during Monday's Class 4A sectional semifinal girls basketball game in Palatine. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

Fremd guard Emily Klaczek could not believe the width of the path to the basket Monday night.

With her team up 49-45 late in the fourth quarter of the second Class 4A Palatine girls basketball sectional semifinal, the 5-foot-10 senior slithered through and around three Libertyville Wildcats for an uncontested layup.

"She's a very good athlete," said Vikings coach David Yates, not at all surprised at Klaczek's hoops abilities and savvy.

"Emily," he added, "is very good downhill."

Third-seeded Fremd gets to "ski" at least one more time this postseason, thanks to its 55-49 victory against a second-seeded Libertyville squad that had entered the contest on a 23-game winning streak.

Fremd (26-7) will face fifth-seeded Lake Forest (26-8) for a sectional title at 7 p.m. Thursday. LF eliminated top-seeded Hersey 48-44 in the first sectional semifinal Monday night.

"I started dribbling and saw an opening," the University of Alabama-Birmingham-bound Klaczek (13 points, 6 rebounds) said of her pivotal basket. "Maybe Libertyville was worried about our shooters.

"Kudos to Libertyville," she added. "Great team."

Libertyville (27-5) trailed 7-0 but scored 15 of the next 25 points in the first quarter. Back-to-back treys from Wildcats Margaret Buchert (game-high 20 points) and Lauren Huber (8 points, 5 boards) gave the North Suburban Conference champions a 28-25 lead with 1:22 left in the first half.

Vikings reserve guard Ella Burns answered with a triple 15 seconds later.

The clubs were tied at 28 at intermission.

Yates' crew upped the energy, big-time, in the third quarter, using a 15-3 spurt to secure a 41-33 advantage. Fremd outrebounded Libertyville 15-6 in the frame and led 43-38 after 24 minutes.

"Fremd has tremendous athletes, size and shooters," said Wildcats coach Greg Pedersen, who received 10 points from freshman guard Emily Fisher. "It's a team that's very difficult to guard.

"We fought tonight, all the way through," he added. "It's a special group of kids."

Balanced scoring, once again, lifted Fremd. Junior forward Grace LaBarge also scored 13 points for the victors, and senior forward Olivia Hill netted 10 to go with her game-high 12 rebounds. Vikes junior guard Ruthie Montella (8 points, 5 boards) contributed 2 points in each quarter.

"We did a nice job buckling down defensively in the second half," Yates said. "We made stops, big stops, during Libertyville's last 10 possessions."

Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.comThe Fremd bench reacts to a Viking basket during Monday's Class 4A sectional semifinal girls basketball game against Libertyville in Palatine.

Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.comFremd's Ruthie Montella (5) takes a shot during Monday's Class 4A sectional semifinal girls basketball game against Libertyville in Palatine.

Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.comLibertyville's Abigail Frea (45) goes for a shot under pressure from Fremd's Olivia Hill (13) during Monday's Class 4A sectional semifinal girls basketball game in Palatine.

Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.comFremd's Emily Klaczek reacts after scoring on a steal during Monday's Class 4A sectional semifinal girls basketball game against Libertyville in Palatine.

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