Scouting: Fox Valley sectionals

By John Lemon

jlemon@dailyherald.com

Class 4A Lake Park sectional

No. 1 Geneva (26-3) vs. No. 4 Wheaton North (21-9)

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lake Park's West campus

Coaches: Sarah Meadows, Geneva; Dave Eaton, Wheaton North

How they got here: Geneva defeated Schaumburg 62-37 and Batavia 59-46 to win the Schaumburg regional. Wheaton North defeated Conant 47-33 and Elk Grove 51-39 to win the DeKalb regional.

Scouting Geneva: The defending Class 4A state champions return four starters from that team led by four-year starting guards Stephanie Hart and Margaret Whitley. The experienced and talented Vikings also feature seniors Madison Mallory, Maddy Yelle and Brie Borkowicz, plus sophomore Lindsay Blackmore coming off the bench who leads a balanced team rebounding squad with four players - Blackmore, Mallory, Yelle and Hart - averaging 5 rebounds a game. The scoring also is balanced with Whitley at 12.3 points a game just ahead of Hart, Mallory and Yelle. The Vikings can shoot it - Hart is hitting 48 percent of her 3-point shots and Whitley is at 41 percent. Geneva has won 11 straight games since a 49-42 loss to Loyola on Jan. 13. Playing in its 10th straight sectional, Geneva is going for its seventh sectional crown in the last 10 years.

Scouting Wheaton North: A future DuKane Conference opponent for the Vikings, the Falcons are led by senior guard Hannah Swider, junior guard Nikki Baird, and senior point guard Sophie Ahlberg. Baird is just back from a broken wrist. She scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Falcons' regional championship win. Swider added 11 points in the victory. Among three common opponents that includes both teams beating Downers Grove North and Glenbard North, the Falcons and Vikings both played and lost to Mother McAuley this year; Wheaton North 62-44 and Geneva 59-52.

Advancement: The winner plays the winner of No. 2 Wheaton Warrenville South (26-3) and No. 6 Rolling Meadows (21-8) in the sectional championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Class 4A Dundee Crown sectional

No. 3 Cary-Grove (19-10) vs. No. 1 Rockford Boylan (30-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Coaches: Rod Saffert, Cary-Grove; Paul Perrone, Rockford Boylan

How they got here: Boylan defeated Huntley 43-20 and Harlem 50-36 to win the Huntley regional. Cary-Grove defeated South Elgin 69-37 and Dundee-Crown 33-32 to win the South Elgin regional.

Scouting Cary-Grove: Senior Katie Sowa does it all for the Trojans. She averages a team-best 14.2 points per game, hitting 43 percent of her shots from the field and 70 percent at the line. Sowa also averages 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists per game. She scored 15 points in both regional wins including the game-winning basket against Dundee-Crown with 37 seconds left. Maddie Jannusch added 7 points and 7 boards in that win and is the Trojans' second leading scorer at just under 9 points per game. Cary-Grove enters on a 5-game winning streak since a 43-31 loss to St. Charles North on Jan. 30.

Scouting Rockford Boylan: The No. 2 ranked team in the final Class 4A state poll behind just Edwardsville and ahead of Montini, Maine West and Geneva, the high-scoring Titans average 62.4 points a game. Senior McKenzie Brown leads the team at 14.9 points per game followed by sophomore Payton Kennedy at 13.8 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds a game.

Advancement: The winner plays the winner of McHenry and Rockton Hononegah in the sectional championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday.