Scouting the Fox Valley area Class 3A-4A postseason
CLASS 4A HONONEGAH SECTIONAL
Regional hosts: Rockford Jefferson, Rockford Guilford, Larkin, Prairie Ridge
Top seeds (by regional): Jacobs, Hononegah, St. Charles North, Cary-Grove
Teams to keep an eye on: Machesney Park Harlem, Rockford Auburn, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown.
Jefferson regional outlook: Jacobs (15-11) is the top seed at Jefferson and the Golden Eagles go into the postseason having won their last three games. "We're going to take it one game at a time," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens, whose team is seeking the program's first regional title since 2005. "I could see us easily winning it or easily losing it depending on what team shows up on what night." The Golden Eagles will open the postseason on Tuesday night against the winner of Monday's play-in game between No. 4 seed DeKalb (11-17) and No. 5 Rockford East (2-22). "I've seen DeKalb play and they've got the weapons to be able to hurt us if we have a bad night either offensively or defensively," said Haugens of the Barbs, who did go 9-5 in the Western Sun Conference. Jacobs senior Markie Rahn is the second leading scorer in the area at 14.8 ppg and has the ability to come up with a 25-30 point game. She also has 32 3-pointers this season. Maria Tamburrino is Jacobs' second leading scorer at 8.6 ppg. "If we come ready to play, I could see us winning the regional,: Haugens said. If Jacobs does get to the title game it will see the winner of No. 2 seed Rockford Auburn (20-11) vs. No. 3 Jefferson (12-13).
Guilford regional outlook: Hononegah (21-6), the NIC-9 runner-up to Freeport, is the top seed and will face the winner of No. 4 Woodstock (13-13) vs. No. 5 Guilford (3-21). The other semifinal pits No. 2 Machesney Park Harlem (16-11) against No. 3 Rockford Boylan (18-10).
Larkin regional outlook: It's a U-46 Fest to open the Larkin regional Monday night as No. 4 seed Larkin (5-20) takes on No. 5 Streamwood (4-22) just before No. 3 South Elgin (14-13) battles No. 6 Elgin (1-24). The Larkin-Streamwood winner returns Tuesday to face No. 1 St. Charles North (19-5) while the Elgin-South Elgin winner meets No. 2 St. Charles East (14-11), also Tuesday. "We beat Elgin 81-58 last time but they are dangerous," said first-year South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast, whose team has assured itself of at least a .500 finish. "They've got solid guards who can shoot 3s. We have a size advantage and we shot well against their zone last time. We need to play defense and not get into foul trouble. Our goal is to get to the regional final." To do that, the Storm will have to not only beat Elgin but then upset a St. Charles East team that beat South Elgin 59-43 on Dec. 20. "We're playing a lot better. I've seen a lot of progress," said Prendergast. "Everyone knows their roles and now it's win or go home." The Storm, which has made over 80 3-pointers this season, is led by senior guard Alexa Kruel (10.4 ppg, 35 3-pointers) and junior center Courtney Kumerow (10.1 ppg) while Elgin's leading scorer is led by 6-1 junior Ellen Holton (13.7 ppg), who missed much of the season with an injury and didn't play against South Elgin in the first meeting. Junior guard Caris Alan averages 8.1 points a game for the Maroons. "Hopefully the kids will be fired up. South Elgin is one of our big rivalries," said Elgin coach Angie Hudson. "It's do or die for us now. I hope we can hit our distance shots and get our post players the ball." Larkin is on a mini 2-game winning streak, including a 54-42 triumph over Streamwood Friday night. The Royals are led by seniors Alyssa Burns (13.9 ppg) and Sophie Sterricker (8.6) while Streamwood's top scorer is senior Krissy Kunavich (9.0). St. Charles North has one of the top juniors in the state in 6-4 Kelsey Smith (15.3 ppg., 8.0 rpg) while Lexi Baltes (8.6 ppg), Tasha Lalos (7.4 ppg) and Katie King (7 ppg) are the Saints' leaders.
Prairie Ridge regional outlook: Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert is the first to agree: the bull's eye is squarely on his team's back in this regional, which is made up of five Fox Valley Conference teams. The top-seeded Trojans (24-3), who finished off an undefeated FVC Valley Division season Saturday, come into their Tuesday regional opener with a 13-game winning streak and a No. 10 state ranking in Class 4A. "I wouldn't have it any other way," said Saffert of being the hunted team in this regional. The Trojans will open against the winner of Monday's play-in game between Prairie Ridge (11-17) and McHenry (5-18). "Our chemistry keeps getting better every day," said Saffert. "We have our moments but good teams find a way to get it done." The Trojans are averaging an area-high 55 points per game and are led by senior Danielle Smith (12.4 ppg), who has scored over 1,000 career points, and senior Jamie Kuhl (10.0). But Saffert says one of the keys to his team's success has been the consistent play of freshman starters Meg Straumann and Claire Jakubicek. "They don't play like freshmen," said Saffert, who also lauded the pressure defense installed this season by assistant coach Dave Otto, who coached the Trojans' boys team to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2001. "The pressure defense has made a difference," said Saffert. "We never thought we'd average 60 points a game but a lot of our offense is created by our defense. I feel good about our chances." The second semifinal Tuesday pits No. 2 seed Crystal Lake South (20-8) against No. 3 Dundee-Crown, a very dangerous 11-15 squad. The Gators and Chargers split their FVC Valley games with D-C winning 51-42 at home and then South prevailing 46-44 in OT at Gator Alley. Senior Carly Juliano (9.2 ppg) leads South while senior standouts Robyn Staudenmaier (13.8 ppg), Kate Pilson (10.0) and Kathleen Collingbourne (6.4 ppg, 31 3-pointers) lead the Chargers. "I really believe we've got a shot to win a regional title," said retiring D-C coach Joe Komaromy. "We've beaten South once and in our two losses to Cary (54-43 and 49-37) all we needed to do was stop one run and we could have won those games." South coach Kyle McCaughn is well aware of D-C's potential. "Staudenmaier is a weapon, Collingbourne can hit shots and Pilson is a big presence down low," he said. "I also like (Rachel) Wilhelmi. They can come at you from four different ways and you have to be on your game when you play Dundee-Crown." McCaughn is pleased with his team's play as of late. The Gators have won 7 of their last 8. "If you had told me we'd be 20-8 at the end of the regular season I'd have been very happy," McCaughn said. "We're playing some good ball right now."
Hononegah sectional: The regional winners from Guilford and PR square off in the sectional semifinals in Rockton on Feb. 18 while the Jefferson and Larkin winners tangle the next night. The Hononegah sectional winner comes to Elgin to play the Mundelein sectional champ in the Elgin Community College supersectional. Buffalo Grove, Wheeling and Warren, all state-ranked, will battle it out in the Mundelein sectional.
CLASS 4A LAKE PARK SECTIONAL
Regional hosts: Willowbrook, Fenwick, Conant, Bartlett
Top seeds: Fenwick, Schaumburg, Proviso East, Conant
Teams to keep an eye on: Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Batavia
Sectional outlook: Defending state champion Fenwick is a part of the Lake Park field and even though the Friars, who are led by sophomores Tricia Liston and Katelyn Payne, have lost 5 times this season they still have to be looked at as a heavy favorite to advance to the NIU supersectional. No. 2 seed Schaumburg (25-5) is in the Bartlett regional and if the host and 15th-seeded Hawks (9-18) can get past No. 18 Morton in Monday night's play-in game, they'll meet Schaumburg Tuesday. Bartlett has been sparked by the return of its only senior, point guard Katie Koster from injury. Freshman Jacki Gulczynski (11.7 ppg) has been a mainstay for the Hawks all season. "We haven't seen Morton but we have some reports on them," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. "It's nice to be playing on our home court and it's important that we stay confident and take care of the ball. We need to be ready for a good fight from Morton." If Bartlett can get past Morton, the Hawks will face an experienced Schaumburg team that fell to Wheeling in OT earlier this week in the MSL title game. The Saxons are led by seniors Kylie Castans (17.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Gabrielle Blackwell (13.0, 9.0) and Drewann Pancratz (11.8. 3.6). Rivals Batavia (No. 7 seed) and Geneva (No. 10) will face each the in the other semifinal at Bartlett. The Bartlett regional winner takes on the Willowbrook winner in the Lake Park sectional semis. Proviso East is the top seed at Willowbrook but don't overlook Lake Park with scoring machine Sam Arnold. Regional winners from Fenwick and Conant meet in the other semi at Lake Park and the sectional winner advances to NIU to face the Neuqua Valley sectional winner. Hinsdale Central, the state's top-ranked team, is the top seed at Neuqua and would like to avenge its only loss of the season by beating Fenwick for a trip Downstate.
CLASS 3A ROCHELLE SECTIONAL
Regional hosts: Yorkville, Rock Falls, Marengo, Kaneland
Top seeds (by regional): Rosary, Rock Falls, Rockford Lutheran, Huntley
Teams to keep an eye on: Freeport, Burlington Central
Kaneland regional outlook: Huntley coach Steve Raethz is pleased with the way his team has been playing the last few weeks and hopes it carries over to yield the Red Raiders (18-9) their second straight regional title. "I've been very pleased with the way we've been playing the last 10 games," said Raethz, whose team has won 8 of its last 9 games. "We've got great balance and we've played a tough schedule that's really prepared us for the postseason." The Red Raiders are led by seniors Katie Bergquiust (10.2 ppg) and Daisy Jara (9.6) but freshman callup Kadie Lowery has averaged 8.6 points and drained 16 3-pointers in her 9 games since joining the varsity. "We're going 10-11 deep right now. "Raethz said. "We're playing with a lot of confidence and our goal is to come away with a regional championship. I like our chances." Huntley will wait until Wednesday to open the postseason and will face the winner of Monday's play-in game between Sycamore and Aurora Central Catholic (1-22). The other Wednesday semi pits a struggling No. 2 seed Burlington Central (18-10) against No. 3 Kaneland (9-15), which was seeded behind the Rockets despite beating BC 44-36 on Jan. 5. Burlington has lost 3 straight and 4 of its last 6, averaging just 37 points per game in those 6 games. "We just can't put the biscuit in the basket lately," said Rockets coach Darlene Guyett. "I'm trying to get to the bottom of why we're struggling. Right now it's a sense of urgency for us. If you lose you're done." BC is led by seniors Cory Bazany (12.5 ppg) and Melanie Laird (12.7) and sophomore point guard Jordan Maisto (11.0, 46 3-pointers). Kaneland, which has won 3 straight, is led by Katie Hatch (9.1) and Brittney Hankes (8.0). The winner at Kaneland will take on the Rock Falls winner at Rochelle while the winners from Marengo and Yorkville meet, meaning the Rochelle sectional final could be a Herald City matchup between Huntley, Burlington or Kaneland and Rosary.