NORMAL, Ill. — When Loyola guard Aubrey Galvan stepped to the line to shoot two free throws, it looked as though one of the best shooters in the state would put the nail in the coffin for Fremd’s season.
The Ramblers led by three points in the first overtime and were looking to close out the Vikings. But something unexpected happened: Galvan missed both.
Those misses left the door open for Fremd. After making a three-pointer to cut Loyola’s lead to three on the previous possession, Vikings senior guard NaTallia ‘‘Coco’’ Urlacher was feeling it. She was ready for her moment on the big stage.
Urlacher grabbed the rebound of Galvan’s second miss with around 11 seconds left and dribbled with urgency. She took a few dribbles to her left before spinning to her right and nailing a step-back three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score and send the game to a second overtime.
That shot gave Fremd the momentum it needed to defeat the Ramblers 80-74 in a Class 4A semifinal at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena. Urlacher snatched away Loyola’s near-certain victory with one shot.
‘‘As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was going in,’’ said Urlacher, who scored 32 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. ‘‘We’re not losing this game. That was a big thing leading up to this game, during the game, halftime.’’
Urlacher willed the Vikings to victory. She normally has an effect on every facet of the game, but her scoring numbers generally don’t wow people. But after guard Ella Todd fouled out, it was Urlacher’s show. She scored a combined 14 points in the overtimes.
Urlacher’s performance was also a form of redemption. On the same court last year — also against the Ramblers — she didn’t play up to her capabilities. She scored one point on 0-for-8 shooting in Fremd’s 43-40 semifinal loss.
‘‘Last year, I was really disappointed in my performance,’’ Urlacher said. “I felt like if I wouldn’t have played as I did, we wouldn’t have lost our game. So I came in today like I wasn’t nervous. I was very loose.’’
Urlacher’s demeanor benefitted her. The game was on the line, and she said: ‘‘I’m just gonna shoot this. If it goes in, it goes in; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.’’
That attitude, however, belies a fiery competitor.
‘‘I’ve never seen anyone want to win so badly,’’ said Todd, who scored 13 points.
After the disappointing end to last season, Urlacher went to work on her three-point shot. She said she would make at least 100 shots on a shooting gun before or after school.
Like Urlacher, the Vikings had something to prove this season. They played with an intensity and drive that was hard for Loyola to match. Fremd had lost to the Ramblers three times in the last two seasons, and Friday was the Vikings’ chance to get some retribution.
Next up for Fremd is the Class 4A championship game Saturday against Kenwood.
A victory would put a topper on what has been a successful but trying season for the Vikings, who last June lost their former coach, Dave Yates, to glioblastoma multiforme, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
All season, the players have been competing for one another, for Yates and for a chance to win an elusive state championship.
‘‘We’ve been saying to play for each other, but we’re doing it for everything,’’ senior guard Ellie Thompson said.