Montini tournament field is loaded again
There's no doubt the collective field at the Montini Christmas Tournament includes some of the best girls basketball teams in the state, and the top five seeds - Montini, Whitney Young, Benet, Hersey and Huntley - had a collective record of 37-2 through Wednesday.
In fact, through 13th seed Marian Catholic, every team in the tournament is at least .500. The collective record of the top 13 teams at Montini through Wednesday was 83-16.
The tournament tips off Dec. 26 with Montini (8-0) playing No. 16 seed Oak Park-River Forest. No. 2 Young (4-1) takes on No. 15 St. Joe's in the first round while No. 3 Benet (8-1) draws No. 14 Romeoville and No. 4 Hersey (9-0) gets No. 13 Marian Catholic (3-2).
No. 5 Huntley (8-0), led by senior Ali Andrews drew No. 12 Bolingbrook (2-2) in the first round, while No. 8 seed Batavia (7-1) will have a challenge with No. 9 Kenwood (8-2). Geneva (5-1) is the No. 10 seed and plays No. 7 Evanston (7-1).
"It's a really really deep field and there should be some very competitive games," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "It's our third year at Montini and this is as strong and deep as we've seen it. It's going to be fun and it's a great opportunity for us to play some great competition over those four days and that will do nothing but make us better later in the season. I think there's a lot of parity in the tournament this year."
More Christmas: Pairings for the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North have also been released and West Aurora drew the No. 8 seed. The Blackhawks will play host Wheaton North in the first round on Dec. 21. Glenbrook South, Lyons Township, Glenbard North and Schaumburg are the top four seeds. Jacobs, St. Charles East and Elgin are also in the field. Jacobs plays No. 7 Hinsdale Central in the first round while St. Charles East takes on No. 5 Palatine and Elgin drew Lyons.
Sister act: Senior Bethany Orman and freshman Hailey Orman are playing basketball together again for the first time in years as starters for a Batavia team off to a red-hot 7-1 start.
It's hard to tell who is happier about it, Bethany and Hailey, or Bulldogs coach Kevin Jensen.
"It's fun and it's always fun to see kids get to play with their siblings," Jensen said. "That's a big deal for them. I'm glad they get that opportunity. I'm glad we have someone talented enough to do it."
Hailey Orman certainly has made a good first impression. While her older sister runs the team at point guard, the younger Orman has stepped in quickly and supplied much-needed outside shooting.
Last Thursday, Hailey made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 15 points in a 55-49 win at St. Charles North.
"It's really fun," Hailey Orman said. "I'm having a good time. All the girls are nice. They make me feel included. They are great players.
"I love playing with Bethany. She brings out the best in my game. She's always pushing me to be the best I can be."
Bethany Orman knows just what Hailey is going through. Three years ago she stepped right into the varsity lineup as a freshman playing on a talented team with Liza Fruendt.
Bethany is glad to have a chance to be a senior now helping a freshman, especially one in her family.
"It's awesome, I love it," Bethany Orman said. "I haven't played (on the same team) since we were really little. She's grown and gotten real confident in her shot. It's fun to be out there with her and we've got a little bond out there. We trust each other with the ball. I've worked with her a lot over the years. She's just got a lot better."
Fellow four-year starter Hannah Frazier gets plenty of attention, but the steady play of Bethany Orman has been a big key to Batavia's wins over teams like Trinity, St. Charles North and Rolling Meadows.
Orman does plenty of little things that helps her team win games that don't always show up in the box score.
"Her basketball savvy is at a high level right now and that's going to help us," Jensen said. "She gets a lot of assists, she rebounds well, plays good defense. It's a big deal for us."
Chasing 2,000: Batavia senior Hannah Frazier has a chance at not only the school record for scoring but also 2,000 career points.
Frazier entered this week with 1,521 career points. Liza Fruendt, who Frazier played with her first two years at Batavia, finished with a school-best 1,921 total points.
Batavia has 20 regular season games left, plus the postseason. If Frazier scores at the same 22-point per game clip she did as a junior, she can reach both marks late in the regular season or possibly the postseason.
"I think both are reachable," Jensen said.
Geneva junior Grace Loberg also could hit a milestone this season, starting this week 242 points away from 1,000. Loberg is just 9 rebounds away from 500.
More milestones: Two other players should hit the 1,000-point mark for their careers this weekend. Harvest Christian senior Paulina Castro stands at 992 going into Friday's Chi-Town Showdown game against Chicago Bogan at Whitney Young. Bogan was a Class 3A Final Four team last year. Also, Burlington Central senior Shelby Holt is just 10 points shy of 1,000 for her career going into Friday's Big Northern East game at North Boone, which should be the Rockets' 40th straight win in the BN-East.
A grand X 3: By season's end, Burlington Central has a solid chance of having three 1,000-point scorers on the floor, all of them seniors. Sam Pryor went over the 1,000 mark last season, the aforementioned Shelby Holt is 10 points short, and Kayla Ross has a decent shot of hitting 1,000 as she stands at 847 going into Friday's game at North Boone.
One more: Westminster Christian senior Maddie Versluys needs just 6 points against Aurora Christian on Saturday to become the school's all-time leading scorer, boys or girls.