Rogers Sees Her Success, Leads GBS to Road Win At Hersey

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — Look at Sidney Rogers on the floor and meet her gaze if you can. It’s not likely, because her eyes are so frequently fixated on the rim. The spatial awareness of the senior guard, often the smallest player on the floor, far surpasses many of her peers.

Rogers tied for the game-high with 28 points, including 6 3-pointers in a 78-70 road win at Hersey on Monday.

“She’s high-IQ. She’s very determined,” Glenbrook South coach Scott Nemecek said. “And you can see the look on her face, It becomes very serious. And it feels good when you see that look.”

After leading by double-digits much of the third quarter, GBS yielded a Huskies rally toward the end of the third and into the fourth.

Natalie Alesia scored on a layup and Katy Eidle sank 2 free throws. Kelsey Neary then notched a steal and dished to Katy Eidle for an easy Hersey deuce to cut GBS’s lead to 63-61 to force a timeout with 4:16 left in the fourth.

Rogers had the answer. Coming out of the timeout and dribbling well beyond the top of the key, the future Washington University (St. Louis) player pulled up, put up her high-arching shot and found nothing but the bottom of the net for a huge Titans response.

“You just have to stay calm, play under pressure and be able to make those good reads, whether that means a shot for you or a good dish to someone else,” Rogers said.

Rogers also made heads-up passes in timely moments, and sophomore Titans guard Gina Davorija was plenty composed in the road environment. She scored the next two Titans buckets to push the GBS lead to 70-63 with 2:21 left. Nemecek said letting the Titans play free and loose paid dividends Monday.

“We get sped up sometimes,” Davorija said. “We noticed we were getting sped up, so we had to slow down and get some big baskets, not rush anything.”

Rogers was also 10 of 12 from the free throw line and hit at least one 3-pointer in each quarter. Rogers also dished out at least a handful of assists.

“She knows that there’s enough kids out there that are going to be trying to help, maybe block her shot, so she’s finding the right time,” Nemecek said. “And certainly she’s a good ball-handler so you know the time is going to (come) off the clock. And number 2, you know she can make free throws if she does get fouled, so it’s great to have it in her hands.”

The efforts of Katy Eidle (28) and crew were enough to make GBS sweat. Eidle, a senior Michigan commit, is the reigning Gatorade Illinois Player Of The Year. She reached 2,000 career points on Saturday.

“It’s something special,” Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. “From all the players, boys and girls (at Hersey), there’s only been two, that’s Megan Rogowski, who holds the record, and Katy. Especially considering she played like 20 fewer games because of her sophomore year.”

Fendley said that after the recent return from injury of Mrowicki, a Notre Dame soccer signee, the Huskies lost another player to injury. She is hopeful that Kiki Craft, a good athlete who rebounds well for the Huskies, is back later this week from a recent injury.

Mrowicki scored 16, Mackenzie Ginder scored 8 of her 10 in the second half and Alesia had 9.

“We’re just hopeful that we really will be at full strength,” Fendley said. “If not Wednesday, then Saturday… We’ll see if we put the pieces together when it counts.”

Adding to the cause for GBS were Davorija’s 19 points. She had a big second and fourth quarter, scoring 8 in each.

“I’ve been told by all my coaches that I am fast, but I do need to slow down and I think that makes me more of a versatile player,” Davorija said.

Chloe Gonzalez contributed 13 points to the cause while Anna Rosenberger and Christina Korompilas scored 8 apiece. Nemecek said Rogers had 7 assists and 0 turnovers in a Friday win vs New Trier.

“We’ve just learned that when we play together, we play our best,” Rogers said.

Glenbrook South is coming off a week in which it defeated New Trier and Loyola Academy and lost to Rolling Meadows. Nemecek was quite pleased with the victories and gave credit to Rolling Meadows for its hot shooting in the Saturday result in favor of the Mustangs.

(This submission is made possible due to the donations of Glenbrook South girls basketball supporters.)