Fremd gets to the basket to beat Barrington

The Fremd girls basketball team found the cure to the shooting woes that plagued it in its loss to Loyola earlier in the week.

After making just nine of 29 shots in the lane against the Ramblers, Fremd (19-5, 5-1) converted 13 layups Friday to defeat Barrington 59-46 and maintain a firm grasp on first place in the Mid-Suburban West.

Ashley McConnell and sophomore guard Haley Gorecki each scored 21 points and the Vikings used a 12-0 run in the second quarter — mostly off steals leading to easy transition baskets — and an 8-0 run to open the fourth to put some breathing room between themselves and the Fillies.

“That’s how we normally play,” Fremd coach Dave Yates said. “We emphasize getting to the basket. We thought we could get to the basket against them. That’s what we wanted to do. The kids did a nice job of doing that.

“We challenged them after Monday’s loss to get to the rim,” he added. “We were not happy losing that game. Tonight, I thought we played a real good game. The girls played with a lot of energy.”

Barrington (13-9, 3-4) took an early 10-4 lead on a pair of 3-pointers by junior guard Brooke Gunderson (17 points), but Fremd closed the quarter on a 7-2 run that included a conventional three-point play by Bernie Williams.

After another 3-pointer by Gunderson 16 seconds into the second quarter gave Barrington a 15-13 lead, the Vikings erupted for 12 unanswered points. McConnell and Gorecki each had six points during the run.

“I think now I’m 100 percent,” said Gorecki, who missed several weeks due to injury. “I wasn’t hurting after my first game, I was just hesitant. It’s good to be back. This was a big game for us. We needed this win.”

Brianna Lewis added eight points for Fremd and Angie Kirchoff added 12 points for Barrington, which never got closer than six points after falling behind 36-25 midway through the third quarter.

“They finished around the basket, and we struggled a little bit shooting from the floor tonight,” said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. “I liked our tempo. I liked our intensity. The girls worked hard. I have no complaints about that. The kids came to play tonight.”

Barrington’s youth and inexperience out front contributed to Fremd’s 12-0 run in the second quarter. Marilyn Lortz’s jumper from just inside the key to cap the run was the only basket that was not a layup.

“We’re young in those positions,” Barreiro said. “We’re trying to develop some younger kids. It’s a game of runs, and they had a nice run at a nice time. We also didn’t box out well tonight and I didn’t think we shot the ball well.

“You put those two together when you’re playing a good team like Fremd and you’re going to struggle to win.”