Hat trick of bad news hits top teams

There is a folksy saying that "bad news comes in threes."

A dark cloud sure seemed to follow around some of DuPage County's best girls basketball teams last week.

On Wednesday, Hinsdale Central's Steve Gross resigned two weeks into his 15th year at the school. The next day, Montini learned that all-state junior Michala Johnson would miss the rest of the season with a partially torn ACL in her left knee.

The hat trick came Friday night, when Waubonsie Valley leading rebounder Rachel Bostick dislocated her right shoulder - the opposite shoulder caused her to miss several weeks last season.

But the beat goes on for all three teams.

A day after Gross' resignation, Hinsdale Central beat Benet 43-25; the Red Devils beat Proviso West on Saturday to remain unbeaten at 8-0.

"It's been tough," said Morgan Kasperek, star of the 2002 state championship team who has moved into the associate head coach's role. "Gross is a great person and a great leader. But the girls have amazing character. They're doing the best they can through a very difficult situation. For them to come out and play the way they did last Thursday showed a lot of courage and fortitude."

A day after Bostick was sidelined for Waubonsie Valley, junior Keiera Ray stepped in with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Naperville Central that ran the Warriors' record to 8-0.

Montini had Johnson for a mere eight minutes this season, but still has beaten top Chicagoland teams St. Charles North and Von Steuben, and won at Freeport (No. 2 in Class 3A) on Saturday night.

"I'm kind of getting tired of talking about (Johnson's injury)," said Montini coach Jason Nichols, half-joking. "Michala's moved on, I've moved on and the girls have moved on. We don't even discuss it. These are the cards we've been dealt, and we'll play with them."

DVC darkhorses: With defending DuPage Valley Conference champion Wheaton Warrenville South still seeking its first win, it's anybody's guess who the team to beat is in the DVC.

How about Glenbard East?

The Rams (7-1), sixth in the league last year, certainly raised some eyebrows last Tuesday with a 60-57 win over Naperville Central behind Jamie Klepetka's 17 points and 16 from Kelsey Taylor. Olivia Trefilek and Jackie Foreman also have scored in double figures.

"We're very deep," said Rams coach Nicole Miller, "and we have good shooters. We've shot really well in a lot of games."

But two nights later, Glenbard East was knocked off by West Chicago. The Wildcats (4-4) have already doubled last year's win total behind senior Chrissie Rovtar and junior Jessica Baids.

A couple games to watch this week in the DVC this week: Glenbard East hosts Wheaton North tonight, and West Chicago travels to Naperville Central on Thursday.

"We definitely think we can contend," Miller said.

Kids can play: Opportunity has knocked this season for a pair of young point guards, in an unusual fashion.

At Wheaton Academy, freshman Sydney Sharkey has filled the position while senior Leah Fortune was playing soccer for Brazil. Fortune returned to practice Monday, but the unbeaten Warriors haven't missed a beat with Alexa Sharkey's kid sister running the show. Sydney scored 9 points in a win over St. Francis on Saturday.

"She's been fabulous," said Wheaton Academy coach Beth Mitchell, "and she's been a scoring threat as well. I can't say enough good things about her."

At Driscoll, sophomore Kasey Reaber manned the point over the summer while state golf champion Gigi DiGrazia was focusing on that sport.

As a freshman, Reaber's primary talent was her ballhandling. She did hold Elgin St. Edward star Katie Yohn to 3 points in a regional final, and she remains Driscoll's best defender.

"Playing without Gigi over the summer she developed more," said Highlanders coach Steve McCuiston. "It was an opportunity to not play in her shadow."

Reaber's length at 5-feet-8 and speed is a nice complement to shooters DiGrazia and Allie Divito.

"She sees the court well," McGuiston said, "and is a very unselfish player."

Measuring stick? Beating crosstown rival St. Francis was cause for excitement for Wheaton Academy. A truer measuring stick may come Saturday, when 5-2 Wheaton North visits Wheaton Academy for the Wheaton Shootout. The 7:45 p.m. game is preceded by St. Francis vs. Wheaton Warrenville South.

Mitchell admitted the Wheaton North match is one game her girls have had circled on the calendar.

"We're looking forward to it as one of our key nonconference matchups of the season," Mitchell said. "We're even more excited about playing them at our place."