Whips-Rockets tangle tonight
From the 1995-96 season and until Jan. 14 of 2006, the Hampshire girls basketball team won 20 straight games against rival Burlington Central.
But since Central ended that streak with a 46-35 win in 2006, the Rockets and Whip-Purs have split four games, including two last season.
The rivalry between the two fastest growing schools in Kane County heats up again tonight when the Rockets and Whips meet on Rocket Hill in the Big Northern East opener for both teams.
Both come in riding impressive road wins on Tuesday night, when BC dropped Streamwood 56-42 and Hampshire won at Stillman Valley 47-26. And both coaches expect an intense game tonight.
"It'll be a great Hampshire-Central game like they always are," said Hampshire coach Sue Ellett, whose team comes in 5-2. "All the games in the Big Northern are big when you only play 10 of them. You like to win on the road and then take care of business at home."
Ellett continues to be pleased with the progress of her young team, which brings a 4-game winning streak into tonight's contest.
"My kids are playing well and I don't think (Burlington) can just shut down one aspect of our game," Ellett said. "We just want to play a solid game and get the tempo like we want it to be. We're getting better. They're all working on the things they need to work on and that helps make the whole greater than any one part."
The Whips have been led this season by 5-foot-9 forward Mallory Koster, the only senior on the team. After scoring 20 points against Stillman Valley Tuesday night, Koster is averaging 14.9 points per game. Sophomore Chrissy Heine is at 12.1 ppg and junior point guard Gianina Estocado at 8.0 ppg.
"Hampshire has great speed and they are a very athletic team," said BC coach Darlene Guyett, whose team won the BN-E title last season, losing only to Hampshire in the regular-season finale.
"They're a different team than what we've seen the past couple of years but they are still a very strong team. We are going to focus on our defense and rebounding. We're going to have to play solid defense and put four quarters together."
The Rockets (5-3) have been fueled this season by the return of 5-11 senior center Melanie Laird from an ACL injury, the emergence of sophomore point guard Jordan Maisto, and the steady play of senior forward Cory Bazany.
Laird leads the Rockets' balanced scoring at 13.9 ppg while Bazany, who had a season-high 21 against Streamwood, is now at 11.9 and Maisto at 11.5.
"I'm sure Darlene will have them ready to go," Ellett said. "Maisto is a feisty kid and Bazany is very solid.
Finally, a win: Bartlett has had a rough start to the season, losing its first six games before notching a 53-33 win at West Chicago last Saturday.
"We're just really really young," said Sarna. "We're down to one primary ball handler and Alexa (Tovella) is doing a great job but we've got a long ways to go. We're making progress but we have a lot of work to do."
The Hawks have been decimated by transfer and injury. Returning starting forward Natasha Robinson transferred to Wheeling, senior guard Katie Koster is out until after Christmas with a knee injury, and 6-1 junior center Danielle Marciniak, also out with a knee injury, just started shooting with the team again earlier this week.
"We've been playing decent teams and we've been learning first-hand," Sarna said. "We make our share of mistakes but we're learning and making progress."
Two bright spots have been 5-9 junior Becca Cronin, who had 19 points in the West Chicago win, and 6-0 freshman Jacki Gulczynski. Cronin, Gulczynski and Tovella lead the team in scoring, all just under 9 points per game.
"Jacki's coming along," Sarna said. "We just need to get her the ball more. And Becca's really fast and she's worked hard on her game."
Sarna said that despite the record, she's pleased with her team's effort.
"They've been amazingly positive and they're a fun group," she said. "We knew it was going to be a rebuilding year so it's nice to be doing that with a good group of kids. We might take some knocks this year but we have good young kids and we'll be back."
Tourney talk: Hampshire, Burlington Central and Crystal Lake South kick off the Christmas tournament season next weekend. Hampshire is at the Harlem Christmas Classic in Machesney Park while BC and CLS play in the Woodstock/Richmond tournament.
The Harlem Classic, once truly a classic, is down to 12 teams. Hampshire received one of four first-round byes and will play the winner of the Belvidere North vs. Rockford Christian Life game at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday. A loss would put the Whips into the consolation bracket and a second game that day. A win would move them into the semifinals on Dec. 17.
Also in the field are Rockford Guilford, Rockford Lutheran, Rockford Boylan, Rock Falls, Rockford Auburn, Stillman Valley, Rockford East, Sycamore and Harlem.
The Woodstock/Richmond tourney also kicks off next Saturday with each of the 10 teams playing two games at Woodstock.
Burlington Central faces Marengo at noon and Round Lake at 4:30 p.m., while CL South takes on Round Lake at 1:30 and Richmond-Burton at 6 p.m.
The tournament also includes Lakes, Wauconda, Grayslake North, Harvard and Woodstock and runs through Dec. 22.