Alton tops Fremd in physical three-overtime thriller

With Fremd leading by two points near the end of the second overtime Saturday, guard Ella Todd grabbed a rebound but couldn’t find a teammate to pass the ball to.

As she held the ball near the baseline, she ran out of space and threw it toward halfcourt. Alton guard Kiyoko Proctor stole the ball and made a floater at the buzzer to send the game to a third overtime.

‘‘At that point, I knew it was over,’’ Alton forward Jarius Powers said.

With Alton leading in the third overtime, forward Talia Norman caught a pass from Powers and powered through contact for a basket and a foul before letting out a celebratory scream. Norman’s basket proved to be the dagger in the Redbirds’ 80-72, triple-overtime victory against the Vikings at St. Ignatius.

Neither team could get any separation in regulation and the first two overtimes. But Fremd (14-4) started to wear down in the third overtime, partly because of Norman. She was a problem for the Vikings all game.

‘‘She’s making a statement this year,’’ Powers said of Norman. ‘‘A lot of people left her out last year, and I’m glad she’s making a statement that she gets buckets. That’s her.’’

Norman scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. She was a handful down low, requiring Fremd’s full attention on defense. Powers added nine points and seven rebounds.

Because the Vikings don’t have a traditional post player on their roster, they resorted to fronting Powers and Norman with help from behind. Fremd held up admirably, despite the size disadvantage, but playing that style of defense for an entire game is taxing mentally and physically. The longer the game went on, the more it favored Alton.

The Redbirds’ preparation proved to be important. They play one of the toughest schedules in the country, and coach Desera Howard devises practices to ensure her team is ready for long, strenuous games.

‘‘To let them see that the work is the work, and it’ll translate to a game against a big team,’’ Howard said. ‘‘I’m really happy about where we are.’’

The game had all the hallmarks of a classic high school matchup. It featured an amped-up crowd that was loud to a point that the officials couldn’t hear Howard call a timeout and two elite teams battling it out.

Todd was spectacular for Fremd, scoring 30 points and being one of the players battling down low. It’s nothing new for Todd, who has leaned into her post role for the Vikings on defense. Fellow guard Coco Urlacher was everywhere, grabbing 10 rebounds and coming up with four steals for Fremd.

A highly contested game is why Alton (15-1) made the 287-mile trek to Chicago. The Redbirds wanted to be challenged.

‘‘This is what we came up here for,’’ Howard said. ‘‘You don’t want a boring game. The crowd was packed. That’s a really good team. Hopefully we get to see them later in the [IHSA] playoffs. We gave them a lot to handle; they gave us a lot to handle. Neither team wanted to quit or give up, and that’s what you want to be a part of.’’

‘‘Physicality’’ is the most apt word to describe the game. Both teams scrapped and dived for loose balls. It was an intense atmosphere for a game in January.

‘‘I don’t think anybody works harder than us in the state of Illinois,’’ Powers said. ‘‘I had my trust in my team, and we executed and did what needed to be done.’’