Don't expect Huntley to be looking ahead
Mark Smith, Tom Dineen and Randy Weibel could give Steve Raethz some good advice right now, not that the veteran Huntley girls basketball coach needs it.
Take nothing for granted.
Smith's Burlington Central team, Dineen's Stevenson squad and Weibel's Hononegah team, all state-ranked girls basketball teams, were upset Friday night in regional finals.
While that didn't happen to Raethz and his Huntley squad, the Red Raiders know all too well the end of the season is a loss away.
So don't expect No. 8 state-ranked Huntley (26-4) to be looking past its third meeting of the season with Fox Valley Conference Valley Division rival Crystal Lake South in Monday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal at the Class 4A Rockford Guilford sectional.
Meanwhile, Cinderella's slipper, if there is one to be worn in this sectional, is awaiting Dundee-Crown, which takes on Rockford Boylan in the 6 p.m. game Monday.
The winners return Thursday for the sectional championship and a spot opposite the Palatine sectional winner at the Hoffman Estates supersectional March 2.
Far from Rockford, Bartlett will venture into Geneva's gym and try to pull off another postseason upset when the sixth-seeded Hawks, who beat No. 3 York for the Wheaton North regional title, take on the second-seeded Vikings at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Geneva sectional semifinals.
And in Romeoville on Monday, Harvest Christian will battle for a weekend at Redbird Arena and the Class 1A Final Four when the Lions face Iroquois West in the Class 1A Lewis University supersectional.
Here's a breakdown of the next round of the postseason for Fox Valley area teams.
At Guilford
Huntley owns wins of 46-29 and 53-33 over the Gators (22-8) this season but Raethz says that will matter little when it comes to Monday night in Rockford.
“Both teams know each other very well and when you're at this point of the season, when you're playing an elimination game like this, both teams will be focused and have a lot of energy,” said Raethz, now 272-193 in his 16th year at Huntley. “There is no looking ahead to anything. There are no guarantees and I think our kids are well aware of that.”
The Red Raiders, who have won 18 straight and 23 of their last 24 and are in their third straight sectional and seventh in nine years, have the marquee player of the sectional in 6-foot-2 junior Ali Andrews, who has had another fantastic season. The Illinois recruit averages over 21 points per game and has now scored 1,728 career points. She's been complemented by the play of junior point guard Kayla Barreto and a group of first-year starters in senior Kaitlyn Costantino, junior Paige Renkosik and sophomore Morgan Clausen who have continued to improve as the season has gone on.
“I like how we're playing right now and hopefully we can carry that into the sectional,” Raethz said.
The Red Raiders' challenge with CL South will be to slow down junior Chanel Fanter, whose 3-pointer with two seconds to play saved the top-seeded Gators a regional semifinal loss to Grant. Fanter came back and scored 19 points Friday night in the Gators' 43-34 title-game win over Cary-Grove, CL South's first regional crown since 2009. She gets plenty of help from seniors Hailee Massie, Gabby DeJesus and Kiana Clark and sophomore Anna Sevcik.
“They've had a great season,” said Raethz of the Gators. “They run an efficient offense and Fanter is a very tough person to guard. It's a very talented team.”
Dundee-Crown (17-15), which won its first regional title since 2003, comes into the sectional out of a regional in which the Chargers were the only .500 team coming in but in the state tournament that matters little. What matters more is that D-C has learned since Christmas how to finish games, and the Chargers have gained more and more confidence, going 9-4 in 2015 including beating District 300 rival Jacobs for the third time this season to win the Elgin regional.
“It's exciting,” said second-year Chargers' coach Sarah Miller, who won three regional titles when she played for Brian Evans at Mundelein. “We enjoyed that while we could but the last couple days we've focused on Boylan, a great team with a lot of talent. But we've proved to ourselves now that we can win a regional and it's time to show the confidence we've gained. The girls are excited.”
D-C has gotten continued improved play from senior Jesaina Laboy, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds in the regional final. Seniors Lauren Lococo and Creighton Fed along with juniors Kayla Lawrence and Melissa Barker have also stepped up.
“We're capable,” Miller said. “We've been playing pretty good basketball but we have to come out and play a full four quarters with intensity. We can't afford to get off to a slow start like we did against Jacobs (a 9-0 early deficit). We have to come out and play with no fear. There's no intimidation here. We're a good team too. So we've been telling them to just go out and put it all on the floor, stick with the game plan and give yourself an opportunity to win.
“There's nothing to lose here, so go out and show everybody what you've got.”
Boylan (22-8), which knocked off Huntley in the sectional finals last year before falling to Geneva in the supersectional, is led by a formidable front line that includes 6-1 senior Halle Stull, 5-10 senior Emily Crouch and 5-11 sophomore Bridget Bishop. The Titans' defensive specialist is 5-6 senior Allie Zimmerman.
Should Huntley and Boylan meet in the final it would also be a rematch of the championship game of this season's MLK Tournament at DeKalb, which Huntley won 48-43.
At Geneva
Geneva (21-6) vs. the surprise in the field — at least seed-wise — in No. 6 Bartlett (20-9). The Vikings and Hawks play at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Geneva won its seventh straight regional title Friday, beating Wheaton Warrenville South 69-35 while Bartlett surprised No. 3 York 50-40 in the Thursday final at Wheaton North.
“They're a really good team,” said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna, now 315-189 in her 17th year as Bartlett's only coach, of Geneva. “But it's tournament time, everybody's even and anything can happen.”
The Hawks have relied on defense to fashion another 20-win season, while the offense has been spread around, led by junior guard Kaitlin Brohan who averages 15 points per game. She's joined in the starting lineup by senior Lauren Janczak and juniors Kelly Harris, Nicole Gerdevich and Nina Pavell. Junior Shelly Lyjak is back with the team after missing some games with club soccer commitments.
“We're playing well lately and with Shelly back we've gotten back into our routine,” said Sarna. “We've stressed defense all year and we scrap and hustle. We're playing with more confidence offensively and we just have to take care of the ball and be strong with the ball.”
Geneva's leading scorer is senior forward Janie McCloughan, who finished the regular season averaging 13.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg. She is joined in the starting lineup by sophomore center Grace Loberg (11.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.1 spg), senior forward Abby Novak (8.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.8 spg) and freshmen guards Margaret Whitley and Stephanie Hart.
Whitley doubled her season average with 17 points in the regional championship game while Hart also impressed with 10 points.
“We're concerned about their front line,” said Sarna. “They have an offensive-minded group and a good rebounding group. Grace is a good scorer and Novak and McCloughan are offensive-minded players. Their freshman guards do a nice job and they're a well-rounded team.”
The Monday semifinal at Geneva pits No. 4 seed St. Charles East (21-7) against top seed Conant (23-5). The winners return Thursday for the sectional title and a berth in the Conant supersectional against the winner of the Glenbrook South sectional.
At Lewis University
The task will be a tall one — literally — for Harvest Christian (25-6) on the big floor at Lewis in a Class 1A supersectional Monday.
“They're a big, strong, physical team,” said Lions' coach Rich DeTamble of the 27-3 Raiders, who upset No. 4 Cissna Park 50-44 in the sectional finals. “They have 3-4 kids who are equal in size to my two post players.”
That would include 6-0 junior Andrea Fuoss, 6-0 junior Taylor Cultra and 5-10 freshman Meara Tilstra. But the Raiders' top offensive threat is 5-7 sophomore Grace Schroeder, who had 29 of her team's 50 points in the sectional final. Junior guard Skylar Small also has scoring potential.
“We have a good idea of what they're going to bring and hopefully we can counter it,” DeTamble said. “We have to be aware of their inside-outside game and we have to take care of the basketball. We have so many quick guards. We can go 8-9 deep so we can get girls rest and still keep the pressure on.”
Offensively the Lions, who have won their four postseason games by an average of 35 points, rely on junior Paulina Castro, who averages over 21 points per game and has 117 3-pointers, 10th best in reported IHSA history. Senior Kylee Knox averages 16 points per game and has over 60 3-pointers. Senior Morgan Lockwood and junior Rachel Oostdyk are relied on for defense and rebounding.
“My girls are so excited,” said DeTamble of his team's first venture into the Elite Eight. “We've tried to prepare them as best we can and I think it will be a competitive game.”
The winner advances to next weekend's state finals at Redbird Arena in Normal and will play the winner of the Salem supersectional game between Steelville and Hardin Calhoun at 2 p.m. Friday.
John Lemon contributed to this report