Glenbard West’s memorable playoff run ends with supersectional loss to Fremd ‘I’m super proud of our kids'

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – In a span of three years between 1999 and 2001, James Han and Kristi Faulkner were starting guards for their high school basketball teams that played in the IHSA state finals.

Monday night at the Class 4A Hersey Supersectional, Han and Faulkner were facing each other for a trip to the state semifinals as girls basketball head coaches — Han at Fremd and Faulkner at her alma mater Glenbard West.

When the showdown at the Forest View Education Center in Arlington Heights was in the books, Han had helped Fremd write another chapter in its illustrious postseason history.

The Vikings advanced to state for the eighth time in program history with a 67-47 win over Glenbard West.

“First, give it up for Glenbard West,” said Han, the first-year coach who played for Schaumburg’s 2001 team, the only Mid-Suburban League boys basketball team to win a state title. “Being a No. 4 seed and making a supersectional says a lot about them. I know they are a senior-laden team and they play so hard. We feel fortunate to have gotten the lead early. That obviously helped us get real comfortable and kind of put them back in their heels a bit.”

Fremd (29-5), ranked No. 7 in the Class 4A state poll, will face No. 6 Loyola (34-2) at 1:15 p.m. Friday in the semifinals at Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal. No. 1 Kenwood meets No. 5 Alton at 11:30 a.m.

“It will be fun to see what they do downstate,” said Faulkner, who guided the Hilltoppers to their first sectional since 1999 when she averaged 24 points on their third-place team. “So lots of credit to Fremd and its program and coaching staff. They have great players and I have a ton of respect for their team.”

Utah recruit Ella Todd led Fremd with a game-high 26 points, including at least five in every period.

“It’s a great feeling,” Todd said. “This is what we’ve been working toward all season.”

Fremd raced to a 21-6 lead after one quarter, going ahead for good when a 3-pointer by Ellie Thompson (9 points) made it 5-2 with 6:39 left in the opening quarter.

Ellie Noble’s layup got the Hilltoppers to within 5-4 but Fremd went on a 14-0 run and never looked back. The big rally featured 7 points from Ella Todd, including a beautiful up and under that ended the run at 19-4 Junior Bella Del Mar added 6 points.

“We had a lot of contributions from a lot of players coming off the bench,” Han added. “Bella was really sick today. and she powered through that in the first quarter, just gobbling up every rebound. Anna Montella played really tough, inside and obviously we had our starters play big minutes and play well.”

“It’s worth it,” Del Mar (9 points, all in the first half) said of playing through her illness. “This feels great, Last year I really did not contribute a lot and I’m just really happy and excited to have a bigger part in the state run.”

Coco Urlacher had her usual all-around superb game, scoring 10 points, including a rebound and put back on the baseline that made it 21-6 heading into the second quarter.

“This is very exciting,” Urlacher said of her second straight trip to Normal. “I’m very happy. A lot of work was put into this. It was just literally playing together hard and playing hard. We told ourselves, just huddle and talk. We can do our best if we are playing together. Pick everyone up. If they miss a shot, tell them ‘you’ve got this.’ That was our biggest thing: team work.”

The Mid-Suburban League champs kept the defensive pressure on in the second quarter and outscored Glenbard West 15-11. Five different Vikings scored, including Ellie Thompson’s third 3-pointer and 2 free throws from sophomore Gracie Todd.

Junior Mya Austin came off the bench and scored two buckets for the Hilltoppers in the period,

Sophia McMillan made a steal near half court with 19 seconds left in the half and tossed the ball ahead to Ella Todd, who converted the layup and completed a 3-point play that sent Fremd into the locker room with a 36-17 cushion.

Down by as many as 21, Glenbard West got to within 47-33 with a 7-0 run to close out the third quarter. The Hilltoppers got a pair of 16 footers by Noble and a 3-pointer by Makenna Yeager.

“At halftime we talked about not just playing safe but continuing to attack.” Han said. “We knew they were going to make a run and they did,” Han said. “And we made our own (9-3 to start the final quarter).”

Senior Julia Benjamin led Glenbard West with 16 points (three 3-pointers) while Noble finished with 12 and Yeager I1.

“I’m super proud of our kids,” Faulkner said. “We hadn’t won a sectional in 26 years so to do that was huge. All the kids from top to bottom really contributed and I’m just really proud of them.”