Hersey players, coaches and fans knew for years that the 2016-17 season could be a special one. Now, the Huskies have their first league championship in more than a decade to prove it.
Gina Miklasz scored eight fourth-quarter points to lead Hersey past Fremd 36-33 in the Mid-Suburban League championship game Wednesday night in Arlington Heights.
Hersey (24-3) claimed its first conference title since 2005. Fremd (23-6) has won eight consecutive MSL West titles and had won five of the previous six MSL championship games. Both teams went 10-0 in their respective divisions.
The score was tied at 31 with 1 minute, 47 seconds left when Huskies center Erin McGrath passed the ball along the baseline to Carly Cooper, who sank a 15-footer to put Hersey ahead for good.
“I knew I was open, and I got a really good pass from Erin,” Cooper said. “I was so excited.”
Miklasz added two free throws with 36 seconds remaining to give Hersey a 35-31 advantage.
“We knew that we needed to step it up,” Miklasz said of Hersey’s goal entering the fourth quarter. “We just didn’t want to lose. We knew it was our year.”
Miklasz led all scorers with 12 points, while McGrath had nine, Cooper scored eight in the second half and Claire Gritt, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, had all seven of her points in the first half.
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“Gina and Carly were really clutch for us,” said Hersey coach Mary Fendley, who won her 400th game on Jan. 31. “But we have such a team. It’s never one kid.”
Hersey point guard Kelly Weyhrich, who owns the school record for assists, notched six in the championship game. Fremd freshman Emily Klaczek led the Vikings with 11 points, while 6-foot-2 center Grace Tworek had six points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots.
“They pressured us and created turnovers,” Fremd coach Dave Yates said. “They took us out of what we wanted to run.”
The two teams might meet down the road in the Class 4A playoffs, which begin on Monday. Hersey is the No. 1 seed in the Libertyville Sectional, while Fremd is No. 2.
Fremd has eliminated Hersey each of the past two state tournaments, but this Huskies team is potent in almost every facet of the game. Hersey led the MSL East in scoring, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, assists, points allowed and steals. The only category the Huskies didn’t dominate was rebounding, as they have no starter taller than 5-foot-11.
Hersey will begin the 4A tourney in the Wauconda Regional semifinals on Feb. 15.
“We’re happy to get the No. 1 seed, but we’re going to have to show up and play,” Fendley said.
Hersey last made it downstate in 2010, when it placed fourth in 4A. The Huskies have not won a sectional title since, though they’ve won a regional each of the last three seasons. This season appears to be their best shot to get over the hump.
Hersey had four players on the all-MSL team: Miklasz, Cooper, Weyhrich and Gritt, who was the MSL East player of the year.
Mark Perlman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press