Big Tuesday night on tap in Fox Valley
It may not qualify as “rivalry night” across the board but it most definitely is an interesting and busy Tuesday around the Fox Valley in girls basketball.
There are two rivalry games on tap — Bartlett at Streamwood and Dundee-Crown at Jacobs — as well as three other games that should draw some fan interest, one of which could have some conference implications to it.
Let’s take a brief look at all five.
Bartlett at Streamwood: Always an interesting night when George Rosner and Denise Sarna match wits. With their combined career win total approaching 700, the longtime colleagues and rivals always know how to get their teams jacked up for this rivalry, even though they are in different divisions of the Upstate Eight Conference.
On its way to a banner season, Streamwood won last year’s contest between the two, 43-36, and this year’s game has to be viewed a tossup.
The Sabres come in with a 7-8 record but they’re 4-2 in their last six games and won three straight at the Mundelein Christmas tournament to claim the consolation championship. Their run was stifled somewhat by a 53-32 loss to UEC River leader Batavia on Saturday.
Bartlett, meanwhile, is 10-8. The Hawks bounced back from an 18-point road loss to Neuqua Valley on Friday to beat Metea Valley by 20 at home Saturday, a win that kept them in second place in the Valley Division.
Each team has its offensive leaders — Hannah McGlone and Holly Foret of Streamwood; Ally Giampapa and Elizabeth Arco of Bartlett have been the main threats to score for their teams this season, so this one figures to come down to defense, keeping key players out of foul trouble, and someone else stepping up.
Dundee-Crown at Jacobs: The first of two Fox Valley Conference Valley Division games between the District 300 rivals will also be first-year D-C coach Sarah Miller’s first venture into this longtime rivalry.
Jacobs won the two regular-season matchups last year — the first of which had to be rescheduled due to the D300 teachers strike — but D-C came back and beat the Golden Eagles 61-45 at the South Elgin regional.
Both teams have struggled for wins this season, the Chargers standing at 6-15 and Jacobs at 3-15. D-C is coming off a 41-39 win over McHenry that snapped a 7-game losing streak, while Jacobs has lost three straight since beating Waubonsie Valley at the Wheaton North tournament.
Huntley at CL South: This game took on some extra meaning when the Gators knocked off Cary-Grove in overtime on Saturday, a victory that put coach Kyle McCaughn’s crew at 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the division. That means a CL South win in this game would put the Gators into a first-place tie with No. 8 Huntley (15-3, 5-0).
The last time these two teams played, last season at CL South, Huntley won an epic 54-52 double overtime contest that was one of the best games in the area all season.
McCaughn and Huntley coach Steve Raethz always match up pretty evenly on a competitive level and their teams appear to be similar again this season, so expect The Swamp at CL South to be energized again.
The road to the division crown doesn’t get any easier for Huntley if it does survive the Gators. The Red Raiders head to Cary-Grove for a rematch on Friday against the four-time defending division champion Trojans (12-7, 3-3). Huntley beat C-G 58-48 earlier and Trojans’ coach Rod Saffert can easily do the math — another division loss and the quest for a fifth straight title is pretty much over.
Burlington Central at South Elgin: It would be tough for a week to rival the four-game stretch Burlington Central played at the Dundee-Crown tournament but this week might just do it. The No. 9 Rockets not only travel to South Elgin tonight for what promises to be an entertaining matchup, they then host Rockford Christian on Friday before heading to the McDonald’s Shootout at Willowbrook on Saturday to play No. 4 Fremd (15-2). Rockford Christian has been the only Big Northern East team to give BC a game the past two seasons.
Tuesday’s matchup at South Elgin (11-6) will be a good test for Central. The Storm handed the Rockets a 44-41 loss last season, one of only four losses for BC in the regular season.
South Elgin has won three straight and four of its last five, using the increased offensive presence of senior Kennede Miller to diversify its attack. And BC has won three straight since the Christmas break, including soundly beating Kaneland on Saturday to avenge one of last year’s losses. This should be a good one.
Westminster Christian at Larkin: The winner of this Elgin City Classic game will have the inside track to the tournament championship. Larkin (6-10 overall) is 2-0 in the Classic and will complete tournament play next Monday against Elgin Academy. Westminster has only played one Classic game. The Warriors (14-2) take on Elgin Friday and then finish the tournament at home next Monday against Harvest Christian.
Larkin comes into this game 4-1 in its last five games, including a 41-38 win over Elgin last Friday. Westminster had a 12-game winning streak snapped on Saturday when it lost, 73-59, to Cuba City, Wis., in a shootout at Loras College. Cuba City is one of the top small-school teams in Wisconsin.
Super in Elgin: The Class 4A supersectional between the Addison Trail and CL South sectional winners will be played at Judson University on Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Westminster Christian will be the host school.
Record-breaker: Westminster Christian senior McKaila Hays broke the school career 3-point record Saturday. She now has 107. The old record of 104 was held by Arden Clark. Hays also broke the school career assist record recently. She now has 225. The old record of 205 was held by Stacy Mahlman. And, Liz Meschewski is the new career leader at Westminster in steals. With 252, she has broken the record previously held by Sarah Rodgers.
jradtke@dailyherald.com