Most basketball followers will agree, the highest percentage shot in the game is the layup. In a perfect world, a coach will tell you, every shot opportunity for their team would be a layup.
Fremd lived in a nearly perfect world in the first half, scoring 30 of its 36 points on layups on its way to a 61-33 rout of host Wheeling Tuesday night.
The Vikings (15-6, 5-2) never gave the Wildcats (3-17, 0-6) a chance to get going as they jumped out to a 14-2 run to start the Mid-Suburban North contest. Freshman sensation Maggie Fontana took advantage of good passing from her teammates to score eight points in the quarter on the way
to 14 points for the game.
“We played very unselfishly, and the team did a great job finding me when I was open,” said Fontana.
Wheeling called a timeout to halt the Viking run and responded with a 5-2 mini-run of its own. That was as close as they got, however, as Fremd’s pressure defense pushed the lead to 18-7 at the end of the first period.
All night, the Viking defense frustrated Wheeling’s backcourt and caused 15 steals in the game. Seven steals in the second quarter alone led to 14 fast-break points in the second quarter that put Fremd up 36-15 at halftime.
“My main concern was that they got too many fast-break layups off of rebounds,” said Wheeling coach Chris Van Grondelle.
Just when Wheeling thought it couldn’t get any worse, Fremd junior Erika Butler came alive in the third quarter from the perimeter, connecting for 10 points, including two three-point baskets. Butler led all scorers with 16 points and junior Lynelle Davis added 12 for the Vikings.
Butler led Fremd to a 51-19 lead with 2 minutes to go in the third quarter when Vikings coach Carol Plodzien pulled the entire starting team for the remainder of the game.
“We are really coming together as a team with our defense playing well,” said Plodzien. “We have a tough schedule ahead of us and with an up-tempo style of play in the conference, we are going to have to maintain our play on the fast break.”
Melissa Thal led the Wildcats with eight points.
