Previewing the Class 1-2A postseason in the Fox Valley

Class 2A Byron sectional

Wilmington regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) No. 9 Reed-Custer vs. No. 11 Wilmington, 6 p.m.; Game 2) No. 6 Bishop McNamara vs. No. 12 Momence. Tuesday - Game 3) No. 2 St. Edward vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.; Game 4) No. 3 Lisle vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Back in Class 2A for the first time since 2012, St. Edward (15-10) enters the land of the unknown with a first-round game against either Reed-Custer or Wilmington but if the Green Wave play for the regional title on Thursday things will get a little more familiar in a matchup against either Lisle or possibly Bishop McNamara, the defending Class 2A state champion that went 29-4 a year ago and is coached by former St. Charles North multisport coach John Rutter.

"I was really surprised (Bishop Mac) got the No. 6 seed," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson of the Fightin' Irish, who have hovered around .500 most of this season. "We've seen them play a couple times and they're good."

St. Edward's leading scorer is junior Maddie Spagnola (16.5 ppg) but Dawson has been pleased with the continued improvement of players like juniors Katie Castoro and Yssa Sto. Domingo as well as sophomore Mallory Rejman and senior Emily Armstrong.

"We like how we're playing right now," Dawson said. "We've shown steady improvement and this team has really come together and they're playing team basketball. We know some things about the teams in the regional but really all we can do is control what we can do. We've seen a little bit of everything this year so there's nothing that will really be new to us. We just have to focus on keeping our level of play where we want it to be. If we can do that I think we can have some postseason success."

Seneca regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) No. 7 Seneca vs. No. 8 Princeton, 6 p.m.; Game 2) No. 5 Aurora Christian vs. No. 10 Putnam County, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday - Game 3) No. 1 Spring Valley Hall vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.; Game 4) No. 4 Peru St. Bede vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Aurora Christian overcame the loss of Gabby Galbato, their leading returning scorer and rebounder, to a torn ACL on Sept. 12 to finish the regular season with a 13-12 record. Senior guard Kirsten Madsen averages a team-high 15.9 points a game with a deadly 3-point shot. Sami Hultine is next at 10.4 ppg. The Eagles are familiar with the top seed in their regional having lost 49-43 to Hall on Dec. 31. They would like another shot. "I think it's a decent draw," Aurora Christian coach Burney Wilkie said. "We were seeded in that sub-sectional where I thought we should be. If we play like we're capable of we can win the regional. With the seniors we have and their leadership that's what I expect us to do."

Other regionals: Byron is the top seed at the Oregon regional and Winnebago is the top seed at the North Boone regional.

Advancement: The regional winners from Oregon and Wilmington meet in the Feb. 15 sectional semifinal with the regional winners from Seneca and North Boone facing off on Feb. 16. The sectional title game is Feb. 18.

Class 1A Harvest Christian sectional

Westminster Christian regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) No. 9 Christian Liberty vs No. 10 Elgin Academy, 6 p.m.; Game 2) No. 5 Schaumburg Christian vs. No. 12 Lombard College Prep, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday - Game 3) No. 1 Harvest Christian vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.; Game 4) No. 4 Westminster Christian vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Harvest Christian comes into the Class 1A postseason with aspirations to at least duplicate last year, when the Lions advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Iroquois West 74-64. And there's no reason to think coach Rich DeTamble's 20-7 club can't go that far, or even make the program's first appearance in the Final Four at Redbird Arena in Normal.

"We are completing a fantastic last third of the season," said DeTamble, noting that 16 of the Lions' 20 wins have come against Class 3A or 4A schools. "We've had comeback wins and nail biters and we're still developing that toughness we need."

The Northeastern Athletic Conference champion Lions have been led all season by senior guard and NIU signee Paulina Castro, who averages 18.7 points, 3 assists and 4 steals per game and leads the Fox Valley area in free-throw percentage (90.3) in addition to making 88 3-pointers. Emerging sophomore Alyssa Iverson (52 3-pointers) scores over 15.2 points per game and this week hit for a career-high 34 in a win over Alden-Hebron. Senior post Rachel Oostdyk scores at a 6.3 clip.

"We're hoping we can get to another supersectional," DeTamble said. "We had seven freshmen last year and we were not comfortable in that supersectional game, But we are definitely better prepared for the postseason this year."

That said, DeTamble is quick to acknowledge beating a rival for the third time this season will be a challenge for his squad, provided the Lions and Westminster each win their Tuesday semifinals.

The host Warriors (11-16) are led by senior Maddie Versluys, a four-year varsity player who on Saturday eclipsed the 2,000 point mark for her fine career. Versluys averages over 26 points per game, 8 rebounds and over 5 steals, while sophomore Elise VanNoord (8.6 ppg) and senior Hannah Haecker (10 rpg) add some balance to the attack.

"The girls are progressively getting better and we've got our team back and healthy again," said Westminster coach Fred Versluys, Maddie's father, who admits coming to the end of the season and his daughter's career brings with it some bittersweet feelings. "We're playing very good basketball right now ... great team play, moving the basketball around, and Maddie keeps playing like a horse."

Harvest beat Westminster twice this season, 62-57 on Dec. 13 and 65-33 on Jan. 15 but Fred Versluys believes his team can compete with the Lions, should they meet for the title on Thursday.

"They're a really good team but we're confident we can compete with them," he said.

DeTamble knows Westminster will be ready for his Lions.

"It's very tough to beat a team three times," he said. "Fred knows us so well, I'm sure he'll come up with something defensively to guard our kids."

Other regionals: No. 2 Luther North is the top seed at the North Shore Country Day regional, No. 2 Chicago Hope Academy is the top seed at the Walther Christian regional, and No. 1 Seton Academy is the top seed at its own regional.

Advancement: The winner of the Seton Academy regional meets the winner of the North Shore regional in the first sectional semifinal on Feb. 16, followed by the winners of the Westminster and Walther regionals meeting. The sectional final is Feb. 18.