Scouting Cook County Girls Basketball Sectionals
Mundelein sectional
When: Semifinals, Feb. 21-22; championship, Feb. 24. All games 7:30 p.m.
Grant regional
When and Who?: Monday quarterfinal: (14) Mundelein vs. (17) Grant, 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday: Mundelein-Grant winner vs. (3) Stevenson, 6 p.m.; (6) Barrington vs. (11) Highland Park, 8:10 p.m.; Friday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Barrington (18-11) and coach Babbi Barreiro finished second in the MSL West to league champion Fremd. MSL West Player of the Year Abby Kirchoff heads a veteran cast including four-year starters Sarah Mass and Shelby Whigham. Highland Park was champion of the Central Suburban North. Stevenson coach Tom Dineen, whose Pats are the highest seed in the regional, is no stranger to coaching against Barreiro during his long and successful tenure at Buffalo Grove.
Zion-Benton regional
When and Who?: Tuesday quarterfinals: (13) St. Viator vs. (20) Wheeling, 6 p.m.; (12) Lake Zurich vs. (21) Lake Forest (H.S.), 8:10 p.m.; Wednesday semifinals: (4) Hersey vs winner Viator-Wheeling winner, 6 p.m.; (5) Zion-Benton vs. Lake Zurich-Lake Forest winner, 8:10 p.m; Friday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: MSL East champion Hersey, St. Viator and Wheeling are all within 10 minutes of each other but they’ll all have a long trip to get to Zion near the Wisconsin border. St. Viator (13-16), led by Rockhurst University-bound Taylor Skala, and Wheeling (3-25), paced by junior Kellie Kuzmanic, will meet in Tuesday’s first play-in game. Hersey gets the winner in Wednesday’s semifinal. The Huskies and DePaul-bound Megan Rogowski (24 ppg) won the MSL East before falling to Fremd 47-42 in the league championship game. The Huskies are 22-7, the exact same record they had to start the postseason a year ago. “We’re 0-0 now, just like everyone in the state,” said Huskies coach Mary Fendley. “We had a 22-7 team that did quite well last year in the tournament (fourth in the state). I hope the girls don’t feel bad after their last loss (in the title game) because they didn’t do that much wrong.” Regional host Zion-Benton is coached Tanya Johnson and assistant Frank Mattucci. Both won back-to-back state titles in the 1990s — Johnson at Loyola and Mattucci at Stevenson.
Deerfield regional
When and who? Monday quarterfinal: (16) Deerfield vs. (18) Round Lake, 6 p.m.; Tuesday semifinals: (1) Libertyville vs. Deerfield winner, 6 p.m.; (8) Prospect vs. (9) Carmel, 8:10 p.m.; Thursday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Coach Martha Kelly’s Prospect Knights are the area’s lone representative in this regional which features state-ranked and undefeated Libertyville. Prospect (14-12) has lost two key starters in the last month. First, senior forward Marissa Pettenuzzo, who made key contributions for three seasons, was sidelined for the season with an ACL injury. Then leading scorer Sarah Winans went out with a dislocated kneecap three games ago. “We are still playing good basketball but we still miss their contributions on the floor,” said Kelly, whose team defeated Buffalo Grove and Rolling Meadows in its last two MSL East games. Carmel comes into the tourney with a 16-11 record (4-5 in the East Suburban Catholic). Kelly and Corsairs coach Kelly Prez directed the Triple Threat AAU team together in the early 2000s. Martha Kelly also has ties to Libertyville’s program as she was the freshman coach on Wildcats’ head coach Kathie Swanson’s staff in 2006-07, the years before taking over the Prospect program. Swanson’s current assistant, Melissa Gorski, was an all-area guard for Buffalo Grove.
Buffalo Grove regional
When and who? Monday quarterfinal: (15) Palatine vs. (19) Waukegan, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday semifinals: (2) Fremd vs. Palatine-Waukegan winner, 6 p.m.; (7) Buffalo Grove vs. (10) Warren, 8:10 p.m.; Thursday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: MSL champion Fremd may not have any players considered superstars but they have had super season. The Vikings are 23-6 after a 47-42 triumph at Hersey on Wednesday night. Megan Gray scored 14 points to lead a starting five that averages between 13 and 6 points. Coach Dave Yates calls this his closest-knit team in five seasons at Fremd. The Vikes won their first MSL crown since coach Carol Plodzien guided the team to four straight from 2001 to 2004. Buffalo Grove (16-14) starts out on its home floor against Warren. The Bison won three straight supersectionals over the Blue Devils from 2006 to 2008 at Loyola University. Coach Pat Dudle’s Bison finished the season by winning 15 of their last 21 after a 1-8 start. Senior Andrea DiPrima recently joined an elite group of Bison who have scored 1,000 or more points. She is headed to Northwestern University to play softball while backcourt partner KC Dunne will do the same for Western Illinois. Palatine (8-18), led by sophomore guard Nia Pappas (averaging 15 ppg the last four games), hopes to get a third shot at Fremd.
York sectional
When: Semifinals, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. and 8:10 p.m.; championship Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Trinity regional
Who and when? Monday quarterfinal: (14) Elk Grove vs. (19) Glenbard East, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday semifinals: (3) Trinity vs. Elk Grove-Glenbard East winner, 6 p.m.; (6) West Chicago vs. (11) York, 8:10 p.m.; Thursday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Elk Grove (10-17) is the area’s only representative. Coach Ryan Kirkorsky will try to get his team past Glenbard East to have a shot at No. 3 seed and state-ranked Trinity in the semifinals. Grenadiers sophomore forward Diamond Boyd has emerged as a top player in the Mid-Suburban League and will be coming off a career-high 22-point performance in an overtime loss to Conant last week. Senior guard Maggie Fries scored a career-high 20 points against Glenbrook North earlier in the season and registered a team-high 19 when Elk Grove upset Rolling Meadows three weeks ago.
Hoffman Estates regional
When and who? Monday quarterfinal: (16) Schaumburg vs. (17) Lake Park, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday semifinal: (1) Fenwick vs. Schaumburg-Lake Park winner, 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday semifinal: (8) Hoffman Estates vs. (9) Oak Park-River Forest, 7:30 p.m.; Friday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Hoffman Estates has enjoyed a successful season with Destinee Young, Precious Ogunleye and Jada Stotts forming one of the most formidable frontlines in the area. Stotts, who will play D-I volleyball at Austin Peay next season, has scored in double figures in the Hawks’ last eight games, including a season-high 18 against Palatine. Young produced a career-high 31 points against Elk Grove earlier this season and has been over 20 points five times. The Hawks started the season 7-0, winning the Lake Park-Hoffman Estates-Elk Grove Thanksgiving tourney, then taking third in the Mundelein Christmas tourney with an impressive 52-46 triumph over Cary-Grove. Coach Mike Nocella’s Hawks have won six of their last eight games. This regional also includes state-ranked Fenwick, which won the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic. Hall of Fame coach Dave Power has guided the Friars to state championships in 2001 and 2007.
Glenbard North regional
When and who? Monday quarterfinals: (15) Addison Trail vs. (18) Austin, 6 p.m.; (10) Conant vs. (21) Glenbard North, 8:10 p.m.; Wednesday semifinals: Addison Trail-Austin winner vs. (2) Bartlett, 6 p.m., Conant-Glenbard North winner vs. (7) Rolling Meadows, 8:10 p.m.; Friday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Conant (14-12) needs to stop Glenbard North in the play-in game to set up a Mid-Suburban League semifinal match against Meadows. Coach Dan Travers’ squad had a big win over Hersey in December as it started the season 7-1. Conant has received double-figure scoring from Kelly Lomas, Alyssa Rawleigh, Lindsay Fillingim and Jenna Heneghan, who had 14 in the Cougars’ 58-54 overtime win over Elk Grove last week. Meadows freshman trio of Jackie Kemph, Alexis Glasgow and Jenny Vliet gets its first taste of state tourney play. They have helped the underclassman-dominated team to an 18-11 record under coach Todd Hatfield. Sophomore Morgan Keller is an inside threat. Senior Sara Shumaker sparks the defense while senior guard Maddie Conlin is an outside scoring threat. State-ranked Bartlett was second to Fenwick in the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.
Glenbard West regional
Who and when?: Monday quarterfinals: (13) Proviso West vs. (20) Willowbrook, 6 p.m.; (12) Glenbard West vs. (22) Leyden, 8:10 p.m.; Tuesday semifinals: (4) Proviso East vs. Proviso West-Willowbrook winner Game 1, 6 p.m.; (5) Wheaton North vs. Glenbard West-Leyden winner, 8:10 p.m.; Thursday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Leyden is the only area representative in this six-team regional which features highly-regarded Proviso East and Wheaton North. The Eagles will have a play-in game with Glenbard West.
Maine East sectional
When: Semifinals, Feb. 21, 6 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. Championship, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Niles West regional
When and who: Monday quarterfinal: (14) Maine East vs. (19) Mather, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday semifinals: Maine East-Mather winner vs. (3) Niles West, 6 p.m.; (5) New Trier vs. (11) Maine West, 8:10 p.m.; Thursday championship, 7:30 p.m.
Summary: Central Suburban North runnerup Maine West (11-19) opens against New Trier in the semifinal. The Trevians defeated the Warriors 55-32 in December. Freshman Brittany Collins had 12 points in that game and has been the Warriors’ top scorer and rebounder all season. The 6-foot forward had a career-high 27 points against Plainfield North in the McDonald’s Shootout. Junior point guard Amanda Hoye runs the offense for the Warriors, who started 2-10 but have gone 10-9 since. Kayla Kennelly enjoyed her finest game when she tossed home 19 points in Friday’s 52-50 win at Glenbrook North. The senior forward also grabbed 5 rebounds. It was the 720th career win for Hall of Fame Warriors coach Derril Kipp.