Eagles, Stars set for battle
Sectional play is new territory for the St. Charles North girls basketball team, as the North Stars won their first-ever regional title last week.
What will the North Stars do in the next stage of the postseason?
Tonight in the Class 4A Hononegah sectional, the North Stars (21-5) will take on Jacobs (17-11) at 7:30 p.m. in Rockton.
The winner will play Hononegah, a 70-56 winner Monday night against Cary-Grove, Thursday for the right to advance to the Elgin Community College supersectional against the winner of the Mundelein sectional.
Jacobs coach Ed Haugens knows all about late-season runs, like the one his 2004 team go on all the way to the Elite Eight. But can the Golden Eagles do it again? Well, if they are to advance past Tuesday's semifinal with St. Charles North, they'll have to stop one of the best big players in the state in 6-4 junior Kelsey Smith (15.6 ppg, 61.8 percent shooter, 8.4 rpg).
"Kelsey Smith is a phenomenal post player," said Haugens. "They have great guards that can penetrate and hit the 3. On defense they basically put Smith in the middle and dare you to shoot. We've been working on the 3 but if that's not falling … we'll probably have some new adjustment for this game. We'll need to open up some outside shots."
While Smith stands 6-4, the Golden Eagles don't have a player on their roster taller than 5-9. But Jacobs is noted for being athletic and quick.
"They're aggressive and quick," said North Stars coach Katie Sauber. "They have quick guards who are a little bigger than us but we have great ballhandlers that can handle the pressure.
"What we're mostly expecting from Jacobs is a zone and our girls have been shooting great."
The North Stars won the Larkin regional after beating Larkin and then rival St. Charles East.
In addition to Smith, St. Charles North relies on seniors Nika Sircher (5-8 guard, 5.6 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.8 spg) and Caitlin Winkelman (5-6 guard, 5.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), junior Anna Conrad (5-6 guard, 7.6 ppg, 25 3-pointers, 3.8 apg) and sophomore Kiley Hackbarth (5-6 guard, 9.2 ppg, 27 3-pointers, 3.0 apg, 83.6 free throw percentage).
The Golden Eagles have been led offensively all season by 5-8 senior Markie Rahn, the only player on the team averaging in double figures at 15.6 ppg. Sophomore guard Maria Tamburino averages 8.6 per game. Haugens lauded the consistent all-around play of 5-7 senior Stephanie Leddy as well.
The Golden Eagles have won their last 5 games, including beating DeKalb and Rockford Auburn to win the Rockford Jefferson regional.
"A lot of it has been team chemistry," said Haugens, now 96-47 in his fifth year at Jacobs. "They're really starting to mesh. A lot of our youngsters have started to grow up and have gotten better. They're playing with more consistency."
Rahn and Leddy are the only two seniors on the Jacobs roster. Juniors Sam Votjsek, Keri Bultman, and KC Roller and sophomore Hailey Cnota have all contributed.
The North Stars have won 11 of their past 12 games. This is also the second consecutive season under Sauber they have posted 20-plus wins.
• Additional reporting by Christine Bolin.