Fremd dumps physical Palatine

Against an unprecedented backdrop, Fremd knew what to expect out of its nearest rival.

"They are very physical and tough and they play hard," Fremd guard Ruthie Montella said.

Montella scored a game-high 17 points and added 8 rebounds and 2 steals in the 50-27 victory in Mid-Suburban League West play Tuesday night.

The Vikings (2-0, 2-0) put the game out of reach with a 16-3 run at the start of the fourth quarter.

"We have 10 girls who never played with us before, and they want to work as hard as they can. It makes a very positive, motivational and competitive atmosphere," Montella said.

Palatine junior forward Madi Stark had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Palatine trailed just 32-22 with 7 minutes to play.

"They are very well-coached, they play hard and they play with emotion and they stunned us for a bit," Fremd coach Dave Yates said.

The defending Class 4A state champion bolted out of the gate with a 9-0 burst for a 15-2 lead after the first quarter.

Palatine refused to yield, holding the Vikings scoreless for more than 7 minutes in the second quarter.

"This was going to be one of the toughest games of the season, and we wanted to put in that effort," Stark said.

"We had a lot of good looks in the first quarter, but there was a lot of nervous shots at the beginning. Once we started to get the hang of it and relax more, we started getting those open looks."

Fremd had too much depth and shot creativity.

Jill Sheehan (8 points) came off the bench and hit two 3-pointers.

Her 3-pointer from the right wing ended the second quarter scoring drought.

Senior forward Grace LaBarge added 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Junior forward Brianna Wooldridge brought an athletic and dynamic finishing ability at the rim.

The 6-foot-2 forward had 12 points and 7 rebounds in her second game during her return stint with the Vikings.

She averaged 12.2 points last year at Lincoln-Way West and played against the Vikings in the state championship game.

Her family returned to Palatine last spring.

"Yates made it very easy for me to adjust," Wooldridge said. "Freshman year I started on varsity, so I knew everybody.

"The players all welcomed me back with open arms."

Sophomore Megan Van Brunt added 8 points for the Pirates (1-1, 1-1).

"It's disappointing we are not going to have a state tournament, but that puts more excitement on these conference games," Montella said.

"It puts more emphasis on rivalries like this. We know we are going to have a lot of good shots from a lot of very good teams."