Previewing the Class 3-4A postseason in the Fox Valley
Class 4A DeKalb sectional
Streamwood regionalPairings: Tuesday - Game 1) Larkin vs. Streamwood, 6 p.m. Game 2) Dundee-Crown vs. Elgin, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 3) South Elgin vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 4) Grant vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Belvidere North regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Jacobs vs. DeKalb, 7 p.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Huntley vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 3) Rockford Auburn vs. Belvidere North, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 4) Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
McHenry regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Cary-Grove vs. CL Central, 7 p.m. Tuesday - Game 2) CL South vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 3) Prairie Ridge vs. McHenry, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 4) Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
Outlook: On paper, Huntley (26-3) is the odds-on favorite to come out of this sectional field and advance to its second-straight supersectional and third in the last 4 years, but Red Raiders' coach Steve Raethz and his team know full well the worst thing to do in the postseason is look past the game in front of you. "We're excited about the postseason starting and I'm really proud of the way we finished the regular season," said Raethz, who won his 300th career game Thursday when Huntley defeated Grayslake Central in the Fox Valley Conference crossover championship game. "We have aspirations of another long postseason run but we know all we can do is play the game in front of us and not get ahead of ourselves. We just have to stay in the moment and for now we're looking forward to the chance to compete for a regional title."
Huntley, which has won 14 straight and not lost in 2016, is led by three senior standouts - Ali Andrews, Kayla Barreto and Paige Renkosik (7.8 ppg). Andrews (21.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 33 3-pointers), the program's leading career scorer with over 2,000 points, and Barreto (6.8 ppg, 35 3-pointers) are four-year varsity players who have been downstate, lost in a sectional final and lost in a supersectional in their first three postseasons. They are complimented by junior Morgan Clausen, who averages 9.4 points per game. "They've got a lot of experience, it's their last postseason and they'd like to go out with another deep postseason run," said Raethz of his seniors. "They understand what it takes and it's nice having that experience on our side." The remainder of this sectional, which is broken into two sub-sectionals, has South Elgin (19-8) as the No. 1 seed in the opposite sub-sectional. The Storm are led by seniors Bridgette Williams (12.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and point guard Nadia Yang (8.8 ppg) as well as juniors Mackie Kelleher (10.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Teagan Pompa (8.1 ppg, 29 3-pointers). Larkin, Streamwood and Dundee-Crown all have the potential to pull an upset at the Streamwood regional. Larkin (8-19) is led by senior Marlee Kyles (19.9 ppg), who has scored over 1,200 career points, Streamwood has a top post threat in junior Jenejha Williams (16.5 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 4.0 bpg), and Dundee-Crown (12-16) has shown the ability to play well against good teams. The Chargers are led by senior Melissa Barker, whose 90 3-pointers leads the Fox Valley area. The McHenry regional would also appear to be up for grabs. Crystal Lake South (21-9) is the No. 2 seed in the sub-sectional but the Gators will have to be ready for a potential matchup with Cary-Grove in the semifinals. The Trojans (11-16) have won 7 of their last 8 games including a 51-29 win over CL South on Jan. 23.
Other regionals: No. 2 Rockton Hononegah is the top seed at the Rockford East regional.
Advancement: The winner of the Streamwood regional meets the winner of the Rockford East regional in the first sectional semifinal on Feb. 23, followed by the winners of the Belvidere North and McHenry regionals meeting. The sectional final is Feb. 25.
Class 4A Schaumburg sectional
Bartlett regionalPairings: Tuesday - Game 1) Wheaton North vs. West Chicago, 6 p.m.; Game 2) St. Charles East vs. Fenton, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Bartlett vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m.; Game 4) WW South vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Glenbard West regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Glenbard West vs. Willowbrook, 7 p.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Geneva vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 3) St. Charles North vs. York, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 4) Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
Batavia regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Hoffman Estates vs. Addison Trail, 7 p.m. Tuesday - Game 2) Batavia vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 3) Schaumburg vs. Glenbard North, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 4) Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Three of the top five teams in the Daily Herald Top 20 are in this sectional, which already was going to be a bloodbath before reigning Class 3A champion and the state's No. 4 ranked Class 4A team Montini joined the field. Batavia (24-5) did play Montini earlier this season and held its own, losing 57-52 in a game that was tied with a minute to go. That is just one of several reasons the Bulldogs are a confident bunch heading into the postseason, especially after a 57-56 win at Geneva on Feb. 5 on Bethany Orman's buzzer-beater. "It's huge for our confidence," Orman said. "We knew we were capable of playing with this team." St. Louis-bound Hannah Frazier, who averages 22 points and nearly 9 rebounds a game, scored her 2,000th career point in Batavia's regular-season finale against St. Charles East. The Bulldogs won that game 62-57 to share the Upstate Eight Conference River crown with Geneva, which they also did in 2013 when the teams went on to play for the sectional championship. "I think we're in a really good spot," Frazier said. "We have all the confidence in the world we can play with anyone in the state." The Bulldogs will be without junior guard Elena Cabrera who tore her ACL in the final minutes of their win over Geneva. "She was playing unbelievably well," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. "She is a really good two-way player. She was finishing games for us. We'll have to keep plugging along." Batavia and Geneva (22-4) will meet for a third time if they both win their regional. The Vikings might have to beat St. Charles North a third time to reach the sectional. The North Stars (19-10) have the size to match up with anyone. Seniors Claire Jakaitis and Morgan Rosencrants lead the way at 12.7 and 10.5 points per game, respectively, and they have combined to get to the free-throw line over 160 times. Geneva center Grace Loberg, who became the fourth Viking to score 1,000 points on Thursday, paces Geneva at 13.7 points a game and is among the area leaders in rebounds (10 per game), blocked shots (1.9) and steals (2.5). Sophomore guard Margaret Whitley shoots 80 percent at the free-throw line, 39 percent from the 3-point line and averages 13.5 points per game for a Geneva team that has won 5 sectional titles in the last 7 years but has a new challenge this year in Montini. "We know what our goals are," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. Bartlett (20-7), winners of 11 straight, should get a shot at Montini if the Hawks win their own regional where they are the top seed. Led by Kaitlin Brohan (14.4 points per game), Kayla Hare (11.1), Shelley Lyjak (6.9), Nicole Gerdevich (6.7) and Kelly Harris (6.6), the Hawks have experience on their side. St. Charles East also is in the Hawks' regional and, like Bartlett, won a regional last year. Sara Rosenfeldt (14.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Sam Munroe and Hannah Vitkus all played a big role on that 2014-15 team, and if the Saints (13-15) get past Fenton in their opener will get a chance to avenge a 44-34 loss to Wheaton Warrenville South early this season. "We are playing much better overall," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said. "We're in a good spot. We're going in the right direction and in a good situation for next week."
Other regionals: Montini is the top seed at the Elk Grove regional.
Advancement: The regional winners from Elk Grove and Bartlett meet in the first sectional semifinal on Feb. 22 followed by the winners from the Glenbard West and Batavia regionals meeting. The sectional title game is Feb. 25.
Class 4A Benet sectional
Yorkville regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) West Aurora vs. Plainfield Central, 6 p.m. Game 2) Naperville North vs. Oswego, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Yorkville vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 4) Neuqua Valley vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Senior Ashley Williams leads West Aurora (9-15) averaging 11.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game. Fellow senior Carley Frauenhoff has made 42 of her 3-point attempts this year. If the Blackhawks win their opener over No. 20 Plainfield Central, they will get a second chance against No. 4 Yorkville who they lost to 69-48 on Jan. 12.
Other regionals: No. 1 Benet is the top seed at the East Aurora regional, Oswego East is the top seed at the Minooka regional, Naperville Central is the top seed at the Lemont regional.
Class 3A Rochelle sectional
IMSA regionalPairings: Tuesday - Game 1) Rosary vs. Plano, 6 p.m. Game 2) ACC vs. IMSA, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - Game 3) Sycamore vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 4) St. Francis vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Belvidere regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Belvidere vs. Marengo, 6 p.m. Game 2) Genoa-Kingston vs. Harvard, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday - Game 3) Rockford Boylan vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 4) Hampshire vs. Winner Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Game 5) Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Burlington Central regionalPairings: Monday - Game 1) Sandwich vs. Rochelle, 7 p.m. Wednesday - Game 2) Burlington Central vs. Winner Game 1, 6 p.m. Game 3) Kaneland vs. Wheaton Academy, 7:30 p.m. Friday - Game 4) Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Burlington Central's five senior starters will begin their quest to purge last year's upset loss to Sycamore in the regional finals on Wednesday when the Rockets (22-4) take on Sandwich or Rochelle in their own regional semifinals. BC is the No. 2 seed in its sub-sectional - Sycamore (20-6) is No. 1 - and Rockets coach Mark Smith says that his team is entering the postseason with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. "We're not happy with the No. 2 seed. I think we deserved to be the No. 1 seed," said Smith, whose teams are now 101-19 in his 4 years at the helm. BC's five senior starters have carried the load throughout the season. Western Illinois recruit Sam Pryor (14.9 ppg., 58 3-pointers), Olivet Nazarene signee Kayla Ross (12.3 ppg, 4.7 spg) and Quincy-bound Shelby Holt (10.3 ppg, 42 3-pointers) come into the postseason having combined to score 4,121 career points. Steady point guard Samantha Cruz and post Becca Gerke (7.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg) round out the starting lineup. "They're really looking forward to it," said Smith of his seniors playing their final regional on their own floor. "I think we're playing our best basketball right now. We had a pretty good game against Geneva and I thought we played our best game against Johnsburg." If seeds hold the Rockets, ranked No. 10 in Class 3A, would face Kaneland for the regional title. That matchup would pit the two best defenses in the area - BC gives up just 28.4 ppg and Kaneland 35.8. The Knights (22-4), who lost to BC in the regional semifinals last year, are led by senior Camri Conley (10.2 ppg), 6-3 senior Bailey Crimmins (9.3 ppg), junior Kylie Modaff (35 3-pointers) and junior Jenni Weber (7.2 ppg, 40 3-pointers). "They're good," said Smith of the Knights. "They've got a nice point guard, a nice post and (Kaneland's Ernie Colombe) is a good coach." Smith says last year's early exit after going to a supersectional in 2013 and downstate in 2014 will be fresh in the Rockets' minds this postseason. "There's no question we won't be looking ahead of anyone this year," he said.
The postseason has a different look for Hampshire this year as the Whip-Purs were separated from Burlington Central, Sycamore and Kaneland for the first time in several years. The Whips (19-8) are the No. 3 seed in the opposite sub-sectional and will play in the Belvidere regional where, if seeds hold, they would face Boylan (19-9). Hampshire has been led all season by 6-2 Northern Michigan signee Emma Benoit (17.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg) but has also shown great balance between senior Nikki Dumoulin (9.8 ppg) and junior Rachel Dumoulin (8.8 ppg). "Since the Grayslake Central game (a 33-31 loss Feb. 3) we've played pretty well," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly, whose team has won 3 straight. "The last three were hard-fought wins and we've really turned it on defensively again. It's kind of nice to get away from Sycamore and Burlington Central. We're not looking past anyone. We're preparing for Harvard or Genoa and hopefully we'll get to Thursday and see what happens."
At the IMSA regional, Rosary owns a 53-47 win over Plano. The Royals (12-14) enter with some momentum after beating IC Catholic Prep 35-34 in their final regular season game Feb. 10 on a 4-point play by their lone senior Taylor Drozdowski with 5 seconds to go. Aurora Central Catholic (15-13) is led by the inside/outside duo of juniors Taylor Harazin (10.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2 bpg) and Alex Johnston (7.6 ppg, 2.9 apg, 2.1 spg). The Chargers have not played St. Francis this year. They did meet Sycamore at the Kaneland Shootout and lost 52-40.
Other regionals: No. 1 Rockford Lutheran (26-2) is the top seed at the Rock Falls regional.
Advancement: The regional winners from IMSA and Belvidere meet in the first sectional semifinal on Feb. 22 followed by the winners from the Rock Falls and Burlington Central regionals meeting. The sectional title game is Feb. 25.