Scouting the Fox Valley area's holiday tournaments

At Lisle

Local entry: St. Edward

Top seeds: 1. Wheaton Academy, 2. St. Edward, 3. Illiana Christian, 4. St. Francis

Outlook: This 16-team tournament is loaded with quality small-school competition. St. Edward earned the No. 2 seed. The Green Wave played in the third-place game here last season. St. Edward was 6-2 through mid-week. "It's been a mix of things," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. "We're getting good leadership coming from Katie Yohn, Megan Pozezinski and Celeste VonAhnen. That's been a big key for us. We've had a lot of other girls contributing. We're playing sound defensively and we're rebounding well. We've been able to rely on these things game in and game out." Yohn, one of the area's marquee players, leads the Fox Valley in scoring at 21.6 points per game. "Katie is an all-around, sound player at both ends of the floor," said Dawson. Pozezinski and fellow senior Amanda DeBrocke have performed well of late. "Megan gets the toughest defensive assignment night in and night out," said Dawson. "And Amanda has been tough in key moments for us. They give us that extra spark and boost." St. Edward has its sights set on the title game here. "It's a tough tournament that will be a challenge for us," said Dawson. "We fell a little short last year. We're going to work hard and try and make it to the championship game; that's our goal."

First-round local game: St. Edward vs. Antioch (3:30 p.m., Wednesday)

At Mundelein

Local entries: Cary-Grove, Prairie Ridge, Huntley, Streamwood

Outlook: The Mundelein tournament, which has expanded its field to 16 teams for the first time, features the greatest concentration of area teams. Cary-Grove was 8-2 after beating Huntley Wednesday. The Trojans feature six players averaging 6 points or higher. Senior guard Danielle Smith leads the way for Cary-Grove (11.9 ppg), while seniors Jamie Kuhl and Jill Cole, along with freshman Meg Straumann average 8 points or better. Straumann and fellow freshman Claire Jakubicek have combined to contribute an average of 15 points a contest. "Everybody has been doing their part and filling their role," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert, whose team moved from the McHenry tournament to Mundelein this year. "They know what the team needs of each person. We've got a lot of people that can play the game. Our scoring has been balanced and that's part of the reason we've been successful. The beauty of it is it's been different girls on different nights." Huntley brings a 6-3 mark into Mundelein. The Red Raiders' loss to Cary-Grove earlier in the week snapped a four-game winning streak. "The girls have really picked up their level of intensity, especially on the defensive end," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. During the four-game winning streak, Huntley held opponents to 37, 25, 42 and 32 points. "We've tightened things defensively," said Raethz. Daisy Jara (9.3 ppg), the team's second-leading scorer behind senior veteran Katie Bergquist (13.6 ppg), notched a pair of recent double-doubles. Huntley finished second here last year. "I really like how we are playing going into this," said Raethz. "It's important for us to walk away from this tournament playing good basketball and having good momentum heading into January and the start of conference." Streamwood (1-9), which has played without starting point guard Ryanne Mark for much of the season, has shown progress. "We're playing better and we keep getting better," said Streamwood coach George Rosner. "They want to compete and they want to keep getting better. I'm definitely optimistic. I think we will turn the corner. These girls play hard." Krissy Kunavich, the only senior starter, leads the Sabres in scoring (9.4 ppg). Freshman 5-10 center Emma Schmidt is second on the team in scoring at 6.9 points. Prairie Ridge was 5-6 after beating Dundee-Crown on Wednesday. The Wolves also had a pair of recent 1-point wins over McHenry and Woodstock. "We're taking better care of the ball," said Prairie Ridge coach Steve Rick. "And we're playing better defense. Those things are typical of winning streaks." Senior Emily Murphy (8.8 ppg) and junior Shannon Hennelly (8.6 ppg) lead the way for the Wolves, with junior Julie Schwartz (5.3 ppg) and sophomore Anna Patras (6.3 ppg) also contributing heavily.

First-day local games (all games Saturday): Huntley vs. Vernon Hills (9 a.m.); Cary-Grove vs. Glenbrook North (3:30 p.m.); Mundelein vs. Streamwood (8 p.m.)

At Oswego East

Local entries: South Elgin, Larkin

Seeds: 1. Driscoll, 2. Plainfield Central, 3. Oak Park-River Forest, 4. Lemont

Outlook: South Elgin, which was 5-6 to start the week, has been able to score points this season (52 per game), but coach Tim Prendergast would like to see his team continue to make strides defensively. "We have no problem scoring points," said Prendergast. "We need to shore up some things defensively. We're still turning the ball over with a lot of unforced errors. We're trying to turn the corner here. We want to play better than .500 basketball the rest of the year." South Elgin's scoring output has been balanced with junior guard Genevieve Johnson (10.5 ppg), senior guard Alexa Kruel (10.1 ppg) and junior center Courtney Kumerow (8.5 ppg) leading the way. Prendergast sees a wide-open Oswego East field. "There are 8 or 9 teams that could win it," said Prendergast. "When I look at the tournament, I think we can win it. Why not? We'll take it one game at a time. It's a wide-open field." Larkin, went into its game against Waubonsie Valley Thursday with a 1-9 mark. Veteran Royals coach Amy Silverman likes how her team has handled things defensively. "We're playing good defense, but we're struggling on offense," said Silverman. "We're creating turnovers, but we are not finishing on the other end." Larkin senior guard Alyssa Burns leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg). Senior forward Sophie Sterricker averages 5.8 points per contest.

First-round local games: South Elgin vs. Andrew (10:30 a.m., Wednesday); Lemont vs. Larkin (6:30 p.m., Wednesday)

At Wheaton North

Local entries: Jacobs, Elgin

Top seeds: Schaumburg, Hinsdale Central, Waubonsie Valley, Glenbrook South.

Outlook: Wheaton North's Falcon Classic is annually regarded as one of the more competitive tournaments around. Jacobs, which started the week 5-4, has been making strides of late. "We're starting to gel," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens. "Our shooting has gotten a lot better and people are stepping up. We still have room for improvement, but we're starting to see better things." Senior guard Markie Rahn (13.3 ppg) and sophomore guard Maria Tamburrino (6.8 ppg) are key contributors for the Golden Eagles. Sohomore guard Hailey Cnota averages 6.2 points. Haugens said junior guard Keri Bultman (6.6 ppg) is questionable for the tournament (knee) and junior guard K.C. Roller will not be available over the holidays. "Wheaton North has a lot of good teams," said Haugens, who directed the 2004 team to the Class AA state finals. "We will be tested. We'll get a better idea where we are at." Elgin came into the week winless at 0-11. The Maroons will be without 6-1 junior center Ellen Holton (surgery), who could come back toward the tail end of the season, according to Elgin coach Angie Hudson. Holton is Elgin's leading scorer (13.7 ppg). "We're trying to come together as a team," said Hudson. "The kids are staying upbeat. We're doing a better job of boxing out in the post. We have to emphasize that because of our size." Hudson has been pleased with the performances of junior guard Caris Alan (7.1 ppg) and sophomore guard Brandi Hernandez.

First-round local games: Jacobs vs. Wheaton North (10:30 a.m., Wednesday); Elgin vs. Glenbard South (4:30 p.m., Wednesday)

-- Compiled by Mike Miazga