Buffalo Grove all that's standing between North Stars and state
With 11 sectional championships, eight supersectional titles and a state title in 2000, Buffalo Grove has been known throughout the state for its girls basketball excellence.
The Bison (31-3) and deep runs in state tournament are synonymous.
St. Charles North (23-5), on the other hand, is a little bit new to all of this.
The school opened its doors early this decade, and this month the North Stars won their first regional and sectional titles in girls basketball.
The contrasting programs will battle each other Monday at 7:30 p.m. for the championship of the Elgin Community College supersectional.
The winner will face either Whitney Young (26-3) or Maine South in the 8:15 p.m. semifinal of the Class 4A tourney this weekend in Normal on the campus of Illinois State.
BG was ranked No. 1 in the state for several weeks this season and is currently No. 2 behind Hinsdale Central, which was eliminated by Bolingbrook in the sectional finals.
St. Charles North was not among the Top 10 in the poll or even listed among the teams receiving votes.
"We haven't talked about being the underdog," said second-year coach Katie Sauber, whose first team went 23-7. "I don't know if it really matters if you are the favorite or the underdog. You've just got to show up, have a game plan and execute it. Either way, you've got to come to play."
Some of the players on St. Charles North may be friends with some of the players on Buffalo Grove, but that won't matter Monday.
The North Stars and Bison will -- temporarily -- at least be foes, when the two teams square off for the Class 4A supersectional title.
"I know a lot of the AAU girls on Buffalo grove, so I know that team," St. Charles North sophomore guard Kiley Hackbarth said. "That's a tough team...(but) we'll come ready to play."
"I'm actually good friends with Ellen Ayoub on Buffalo Grove, so I've seen them play a few times," added North Stars center Kelsey Smith. "We might be the underdog a little bit, but we are certainly going to put up a good fight. I think if we play well, we can win."
St. Charles North has set several school records this season. The North Stars are currently tied for the school record in wins and won their first regional and sectional titles.
They are the lone girls basketball team still standing in the Tri-Cities Area, which hasn't seen a team qualify for state since West Aurora in 1999. Kaneland was the last area girls team to win a state title, which it did in the 1981-82 season.
The North Stars made their schedule tougher this year, as they participated in Whitney Young's Thanksgiving Tournament and Dundee-Crown's at Christmas. Four of their six losses came from those tournaments. The other one came from Upstate Eight Conference opponent Waubonsie Valley, which won the conference title undefeated.
Smith thinks the tougher schedule helped the North Stars this year.
"I think we showed we can play with the teams that are ranked and the teams who were supposed to be better," Smith said. I think that confidence is going to carry over to Monday."
The Bison come to play with three Division I recruits who have combined for more than 4,200 points in their four year varsity careers.
Loyola-bound Ayoub has scored more than 1,700 points while Northwestern bound Maggie Mocchi is over 1,500. Maggie's twin, Allison, also headed to Northwestern, has scored more than 1,100 points.
"We know they have three key players you have to shut down," Sauber said. "And obviously you have to handle their full court pressure. Their half-court trap is pretty significant, too."
Guards Kaitlin Hillner (junior) and Heather Nisbet (sophomore) help force that pressure out top.
Hall of Fame coach Tom Dineen (675 wins in 29 seasons), whose job will be opened at the end of the season because he is retiring from teaching, has also relied a lot on senior Lauren Angotti, senior Katie Lee and sophomore Stacy Lialios off the bench.
The North Stars feature 6-foot-4 junior Smith, who averages 16 points and 9 rebounds per game. She is the daughter of former Elk Grove standout Mark Smith, a first team Daily Herald all-area selection in 1977 who averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds for coach Ken Grams.
"There have been comparisons of Kelsey to Mark," Sauber said. "They both have long arms and long legs."
Dineen is well aware of the talented North Stars post players.
"From what I've heard, a lot revolves around her," he said. "And they have some kids who can shoot the ball. So they have an inside-outside game. But she is the main weapon so we have to be concerned about her.
"It's not like we haven't seen big girls, though, in the past. We've gone up against (Lana) Rukavina (Wheeling and Illinois recruit) and (Sarah) Boothe (Warren and Stanford recruit)."
Joining Smith in the starting lineup are 5-foot-10 senior Caitlin Winkelman, 5-6 senior guard Nika Sircher, 5-6 junior guard Anna Conrad and 5-4 sophomore point guard Hackbarth.
The North Stars held Rockton Hononegah (26-7) to a season-low point total in a 46-37 sectional championship win at Hononegah.
BG held off Wheeling (28-4), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, 45-43 before a packed house of nearly 2,400 at Mundelein High School.
"I thought we played as good a first half in that game as we have all season," Dineen said. "It was a great crowd and just great atmosphere. I like the way we've been playing the past two weeks. If we keep up the same play, we'll be OK. We will be ready."
While the Bison like to get the ball and run, St. Charles North is hoping to dictate the tempo.
"We know BG will try to up-tempo the game and make us rush with the ball" Sauber said. "So we want to make sure we control the tempo and use the clock to our advantage."
Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com
St. Charles North's Kiley Hackbarth battles her way through the lane against Rockton Hononegah.