Stars set for 5 games in 5 days
St. Charles North's girls basketball team had a team sleepover party after their win over St. Charles East Saturday night.
Hopefully the North Stars got some rest, because they'll need it with the week they have coming up.
The North Stars play five games in five days, starting with Fenwick, the state's No. 10 ranked team in Class 4A.
That game is part of the Sweet 16 tournament, which also includes games at Sandburg Wednesday and a doubleheader Saturday against Lincoln-Way East at Lake Zurich and Buffalo Grove at Buffalo Grove.
In between all that the North Stars play at Lake Park Thursday in a showdown for first place in the Upstate Eight.
"I'm looking forward to playing those teams, I'm not looking forward to playing five games in five days," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said.
The North Stars will bring a 16-5 record into the week including five straight wins.
"It's going well but we are coming up to the toughest part of our season," St. Charles North's Alex Messacar said. "What we do from here on out is really going to determine how well we do."
All online: It's not nearly at the same level as last year's move to a four-class state tournament, but there is another change coming to this year's state tournaments.
In the past, coaches all got together for a sectional seeding meeting. It gave coaches a chance to lobby for their team and hopefully get a fair shake when the seeds were finalized.
For the first time this year, all the lobbying will be done online. Coaches get a chance to fill out a summary of their season, then all the coaches in the sectional will vote online for the order of teams.
Geneva coach Gina Nolan will be going through this process this week. Her 21-0 Vikings figure to have a good shot to be the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A Addison Trail sectional, which includes Hoffman Estates, Lake Park and Glenbard West.
"It will be interesting to see," Nolan said. "I can understand why they did it because a lot of the 3A and 2A have four-team regionals. But our sectional is 20 teams. I think there is still some value to that personal contact."
Coaches can vote from 8 a.m. Wednesday until 8 a.m. Thursday. Coaches will learn their seed Thursday afternoon, then the pairings will be released Friday.
"We'll be fine with whatever we get," Nolan said. "We have the best record, but sometimes where we are out here they don't think we play the competition other teams play. We'll see. We won't worry about that."
Elite status: The Vikings' success is certainly putting Geneva on the map with the best girls programs around.
The latest sign is an invite to the prestigious McDonald's Shootout at Willowbrook next year. Top teams from around the Midwest traditionally join Illinois' best at the event, held every Martin Luther King weekend.
St. Charles North was among the teams that played this year, beating Marist last Monday.
Nolan said Geneva also will return to the Benet/Naperville North Christmas tournament next year.
"The teams were young this year," Nolan said. "That should be competitive."
Staying healthy: One of the main concerns Nolan has finishing out the regular season is keeping her team healthy. Starting guard Emily Hinchman has been bothered by a sore leg.
More games like Friday's 31-point win over Glenbard South will give Geneva a chance to keep its starters fresh.
"It's nice to give everybody a chance to play," Nolan said. "Coming into the home stretch we want to be rested and ready for the start of the state tournament."
Taking her time: It's simple advice, but it works. When Batavia guard Kara Lydon sets herself and doesn't rush her shots, the results are significantly better.
"If I set my feet and focus it usually goes in," Lydon said. "I was trying to rush the shot and getting the shot off."
Lydon hit two 3-pointers and scored a team-high 12 points last week against Kaneland, the first of a three-win week for Batavia that improved the Bulldogs to 15-2.
"I think Kara is getting her feet settled. If you let her get her feet underneath her and settled she's going to beat you," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. "She's definitely someone who we try to tell her, you don't have to create your shot as much as let our dribble penetrators go to the basket and if they have to help down you just set up for your shot and go."
DeBruycker has been pleased with how his team has responded to back-to-back losses to Rosary and Geneva, both lopsided games by 20 and 21 points. Part of the key has been a balanced attack.
"We have that capability," DeBruycker said. "If we can get seven, eight girls involved night in, night out, that will make us that much of a better team."
Super scout: Not many coaches have had consecutive Saturday nights like St. Charles East's Laura Drumtra.
First came Geneva two weeks ago, then St. Charles North this past week. The Vikings are 21-0, ranked No. 1 by the Daily Herald, while St. Charles North is 16-5 and ranked No. 7. Geneva is led by Indiana State-bound Taylor Whitley; St. Charles North by Michigan State-bound Kelsey Smith.
Unfortunately, those two outstanding teams don't play each other this year. But who better to know who would win that matchup than Drumtra, who just saw both firsthand?
"They are very, very comparable in how balanced they are," Drumtra said. "They both have size. Geneva has several players that can shoot and North does too. It's hard to defend them because there's really no weaknesses. I'd say that would be a great game. I think it would be anybody's game. They are both very, very talented."
For what it's worth comparing scores, St. Charles East lost by 28 points to Geneva and 17 to St. Charles North.
Looking for a whistle: St. Charles North senior Kelsey Smith scored 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting against St. Charles East. On many of her missed shots, the North Stars bench wondered why a foul wasn't called while Smith drew contact.
"That's the nature of the beast right now," Sauber said. "I think since she's 6-4 referees don't feel like they have to call a foul. It's unfortunate because she deserves those calls to be made."