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Bartlett hosting third annual Kay Yow Pink Night

The Bartlett girls basketball program will be hosting its third annual Remembering Kay Yow Pink Night on Tuesday when the Hawks entertain District U-46 rival South Elgin.

The event will honor survivors and remember those who have lost their battle with cancer. The program is hoping to reach its goal of $4,000 for the third straight year, with all proceeds going to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Yow, who spent most of her coaching career at North Carolina State and is one of the winningest women’s coaches of all time, passed away three years ago after battling breast cancer for 22 years.

At Tuesday’s game, pink T-shirts will be sold for $7 and there will be raffles. The Bartlett High School teams and the Bartlett feeder program have also been shooting free throws to raise funds for the event.

And, this year Benny the Bull will make an appearance and bring his slam dunk act to the Bartlett gym.

“It’s a night we dedicate to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and we do so with great enthusasim,” said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. “We’re playing a district rival and we hope we can fill the gym with pink to show our support for the cause.”

But before that: Bartlett has another “big” game — as if they’re not all big when you’re 22-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Daily Herald area — Friday night at No. 3 Waubonsie Valley (17-2).

The Hawks can take another step toward their second straight Upstate Eight Valley championship with a win, while it would appear to be Waubonsie Valley’s last gasp in its attempt to dethrone the champs. Bartlett won easily over the Warriors, 65-47, on Dec. 13 in Bartlett and would appear to be a heavy favorite tonight but the Hawks, who have won 26 straight conference games, could be without starting senior point guard Janessa Baker, who suffered a sprained ankle earlier this week. Hawks’ coach Denise Sarna couldn’t say for sure about Baker’s playing status for Friday night, but Baker (5.4 ppg, 4.3 apg, 2.0 spg) hasn’t practiced this week.

That would likely put capable senior Nicole Gobbo into the lineup, and don’t be surprised to see seniors Kristin Conniff and Haley Videckis handle some playmaking duties as well.

If Bartlett does win Friday’s battle in Aurora, the Hawks can come home Saturday night and clinch at least a share of the division title with a win over East Aurora. Bartlett then finishes the regular season at home against South Elgin Tuesday and Lake Park Feb. 3.

UEC, FVC crossovers: Both the Upstate Eight and Fox Valley conferences will play crossovers at the end of the season, but neither 1st vs. 1st game will be considered an official conference championship game, as is done in the nearby Mid-Suburban League.

The River Division schools will host the UEC crossovers. The 1st vs. 1st battle will be Friday, Feb. 10 with other place crossover games the previous night.

Apparently, though, a tiebreaker has yet to be in place. When we asked Bartlett AD Jeff Bral who would play Geneva in the first-place game if Waubonsie Valley beats Bartlett Friday, Bral did some digging only to learn there is no written tiebreaker yet in this, the first year of the crossover setup. Based on current standings, each division has several other potential tie scenarios, so hopefully the UEC ADs will get it figured out soon.

Same in the FVC — according to an AD I talked to, there hasn’t been a tiebreaker set up in that league either. In the FVC, all the crossover games will be played Feb. 10.

Tough injury: Harvest Christian’s 6-foot-2 sophomore, Sydney Doby, could be out for the rest of the season with a sprained knee. Doby is the fourth leading scorer in the Fox Valley at 16.4 ppg and the second leading rebounder at 12.8 rpg. A force on Harvest Christian’s supersectional volleyball team this past fall, she’s helped the Lions to a 13-6 record on the basketball court so far this season.

“Sydney being out definitely changes the dynamics of our team,” said Harvest coach Kelly Friestad. “But it’s also good for the other girls to have to step it up.”

Milestone watch: Dundee-Crown’s Ali Sanders now has 945 points for her stellar career and with four regular season games and at least one postseason game to go, she would have to average just 11 points per game to reach 1,000. Sanders, who was held to 12 points in D-C’s 44-41 loss to Prairie Ridge Tuesday, averages 16 points per game for the season. ... South Elgin senior Becca Smith stands at 1,864 career points heading into Friday’s game against East Aurora. She can move into fourth place on the all-time Fox Valley list with 12 points against East Aurora, which would overtake Morgan Bahe of Hampshire.

Postseason draws near: Pairings are set for the Class 1A and 2A postseason and seeds for 3A and 4A were released by the IHSA Thursday.

In Class 4A, Bartlett, of course, is the No. 1 seed in the Hoffman Estates sectional complex. Geneva, Wheaton Warrenville South and York earned the other top seeds. Bartlett, Geneva, Conant and Addison Trail are the regional hosts.

The Hoffman Estates sectional winner meets the McHenry sectional champ in one of two supersectionals at Elgin’s Chesbrough Field House. The McHenry sectional is a predetermined regional setup with South Elgin, Hononegah, Prairie Ridge and DeKalb hosting regionals.

The host Storm earned the No. 1 seed in the South Elgin regional, followed by Streamwood, Dundee-Crown, Elgin and Larkin. Hononegah is the top seed at its own regional, while Cary-Grove is No. 1 at McHenry and DeKalb No. 1 at its regional. Crystal Lake South is No.; 4 at McHenry, Huntley is No. 2 at DeKalb and Jacobs is No. 3.

In Class 3A, Hampshire is the No. 1 seed in its own regional, with Woodstock North No. 2, Crystal Lake Central No. 3, Burlington Central No. 4 and Woodstock No. 5. The Hampshire regional winner joins winners from Rockford East, Rochelle and Yorkville in the Sycamore sectional, with that winner moving on to Elgin High to play the Vernon Hills sectional winner in supersectional play.

St. Edward is the No. 2 seed at the Class 2A North Boone regional, with Rockford Lutheran the No. 1 seed. St. Edward lost to Lutheran 48-44 on MLK Day at Concordia University but the Green Wave have come back to win 3 straight since.

St. Edward will play the 8:10 p.m. game on Feb. 8 against either Rockford Christian or Harvard. The championship game is Feb. 9 and the winner advances to the Rock Falls sectional.

In Class 1A, Westminster Christian is the team to beat at its own regional. The Warriors (13-6) will play the 6 p.m. game Feb. 8 against either Chicagoland Jewish or Elgin Academy. Christian Liberty is the No. 2 seed and Harvest Christian No. 3. The Westminster regional winner moves on to the Willows Academy sectional in Des Plaines.

jradtke@dailyherald.com

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