Scouting Fox girls basketball postseason
Here's a look ahead - by the numbers - at postseason girls basketball in the Fox area next week, which begins for 3A and 4A teams and continues for Aurora Christian in 1A.
0 - Number of sectional games Aurora Christian has won. The Eagles claimed their sixth regional title Thursday night at Harvest Christian, and the state's sixth-ranked Class 1A team figures to break through with that elusive first sectional victory Monday at Putnam County. Don't be surprised if the 27-4 Eagles keep winning all the way to the state tournament at Illinois State University.
1 - Subsectional seed for Dundee-Crown (25-6), which hopes to follow up a Fox Valley Conference championship with a long postseason run.
The Chargers start at home in the regional against Jacobs and likely South Elgin (22-9), who they beat 35-28 back in November in the championship game of their Thanksgiving tournament.
Both teams were healthier back then, the Storm losing Arie Williams and the Chargers' Gianine Boado and Arysia Harris. But both teams have overcome the bad luck for 20-plus win seasons.
If the Chargers get through regionals, they head to Huntley for the sectional and possible matchups with Hononegah or Huntley in the sectional semifinal, and the other No. 1 subsectional seed, Rockford Auburn (24-6), in the title game.
2 - State championships for Lindsay Blackmore, the senior at Geneva who helped the Vikings win the 2017 and 2018 Class 4A state titles as a key player off the bench. She gets one last chance at postseason play, which for the Vikings include 11 straight regional titles and seven sectional championships in that same stretch.
Blackmore's Vikings (22-6) enter the Hoffman Estates sectional as the No. 1 seed with the top competition likely coming from No. 2 York (24-7), who Geneva defeated 58-49 at the Montini Christmas Classic, and No. 3 Lake Park, who Geneva split with in sharing the DuKane Conference title.
No. 5 seed Bartlett (23-8) won another Upstate Eight Conference championship and brings the best 1-2 punch in junior Lexie Sinclair and sophomore Mackenzie Hare. The Hawks, who eliminated Geneva in the sectional semifinals last year, won a wild 66-63 nonconference game over the same Lake Park team they could meet again next week in a regional championship game.
7 - Seed for St. Charles North in the Hoffman Estates sectional. The North Stars (19-11) will look to get to 20 wins when they play Schaumburg on Tuesday, then try to surprise teams like they did by winning at Geneva last month. It helps to have senior Caroline Jakaitis getting more minutes lately while senior point guard Launi Chanthaboury has been hot, scoring 29 points against St. Charles East and 25 vs. Batavia in recent wins. Another senior, Emma Nawara, is one of the hardest working players in the area getting rebounds and being active on the court.
11 - Points needed by Kat Schmidt to become Burlington Central's all-time leading scorer. Jenna Real currently holds the record at 1,647, but Schmidt is poised to break that when the Rockets host a 3A regional semifinal Tuesday. And that's despite missing 22 games with injuries the past two seasons.
A team player first, Schmidt undoubtedly would trade that record for a long postseason stay, which has a consider roadblock waiting in Montini, dropped to 3A this year after taking second in the state in 4A in 2017 and losing in a 4A sectional final last year to Benet.
Burlington Central (27-4) would have to reach a sectional final to see the Broncos. That would likely mean avenging last season's regional championship loss to Glenbard South (21-5), a frustrating result considering the Rockets led in the fourth quarter against a team that ended up taking second in the state in 3A.
And Burlington Central also likely would have to beat Sycamore (24-6) with Iowa State-bound senior Kylie Feuerbach in a sectional semifinal at Hampshire before a possible sectional final vs. Montini.
12 - Uniform number for Streamwood senior Mandy Mien, the best point guard George Rosner said he's coached in his near 40 years coaching. Mien, the all-time leader in assists and steals at Streamwood, is averaging 14.8 points per game. With 1,342 career points she is just 16 away from fifth on Streamwood's all-time list.
The Sabres bring a 12-16 record into the postseason but get to play on their home court for regionals which start Tuesday against No. 3 seed McHenry.
Hopefully the numbers all add up to plenty of well-played, exciting games filled with memorable moments for players and coaches who have worked countless hours for the opportunities that start next week.