Only St. Charles schools stand in Waubonsie's way

Kim Connell never has to worry about her young Waubonsie Valley Warriors looking ahead.

"For them it's just one day at a time," Connell said. "You get up, go to school and have a game that night."

Connell herself has known for some time that the Upstate Eight Conference race could come down to back-to-back games with the St. Charles schools. And it has.

Waubonsie Valley (20-2, 7-0) leads St. Charles East by a game and will host St. Charles North on Friday before playing at St. Charles East on Tuesday. It's only been two years since Waubonsie's last UEC title - but that was an entirely different group, coach included.

"It's definitely a goal, but not something we talk about," Connell said. "They're so young, I don't know if they get it. But it means something to them."

Connell is no stranger to either St. Charles team. She scouted St. Charles North extensively last year in anticipation of her Rockford Boylan team meeting them in a sectional final. Waubonsie beat St. Charles East 55-49 in the semifinals of the Wheaton North tournament.

Connell is hopeful that a pair of big wins feeds into the playoffs, where Waubonsie is a No. 2 sectional seed at Oswego East behind Bolingbrook.

"Since the Hersey loss (at Wheaton North) our mental preparation has got a little better," she said. "Are we peaking yet? I don't think so. We need to get on a little run these last couple weeks before the state tournament. A lot of where we are at will depend on these two games."

Wildcats showing fight: Nobody could blame Neuqua Valley for mailing it in this season.

The Wildcats lost three key players to Waubonsie in District 204 redistricting and another player transferred out of state. Junior post Catherine Augustine tore her ACL the second game of the season, and McKenzie Hughes had to give up basketball because of recurring heart problems.

On top of all that, Neuqua started 1-9.

Since then, though, the resilient Wildcats have gone 6-6 - two of the losses to No. 2 Geneva and No. 5 Waubonsie. Last Saturday they rallied from down 9 points at half to beat South Elgin in overtime.

"We're trying to get experience on the run," Neuqua coach Mike Williams said. "It's been flying by the seat of our pants all year. The thing that's kept us afloat is the kids' resiliency and never-say-die attitude."

Williams said that point guard Megan Doody has "turned the corner. Fellow sophomore Kalea Parks, brought up from the JV team around Christmas, was averaging more than 9 points per game until pulling a groin against Geneva last week. Guards Jenna Marsalli and Taylor Francesconi "have turned it into high gear," Marsalli scoring 20 points against South Elgin.

"You're starting to see why Jenna is a (Division I) softball player," Williams said. "She brings that attitude."

Williams is already looking forward to the playoffs, where Neuqua is seeded 14th at the Oswego East sectional.

"To win a a regional, wouldn't that be a statement?" he asked. "We've played so many tough opponents, it's like our kids have been thrown into a fire. And there's no fire department around. You gotta get yourself out of the building."

Who is that masked Knight?: It takes more than a broken nose to keep Kasey Reaber out of action.

The Immaculate Conception junior was hurt by an inadvertant shot to the head during the closing minutes of Tuesday's game with Rosary. A trip to the emergency room confirmed a broken nose.

Reaber visited a doctor today, and a protective mask was ordered. She hopes it will arrive by tonight's game with St. Edward.

"I can't play without it," Reaber said.

It's the second time in less than a year Reaber has broken her nose, doing so last summer at the York Shootout. She didn't do anything for it at that time but will have to wear the mask now for about four weeks.

"It'll be weird," Reaber said, "but I just have to deal with it."

Hit the boards: In five games since Michala Johnson went down with a torn ACL, Montini hasn't missed a beat offensively. Point guard Whitney Holloway has averaged almost 19.9 points per game and junior forward Whitney Adams 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Coach Jason Nichols said scoring isn't the issue.

"Who's going to control the glass and the middle?" he asked. "We haven't been great there as evidenced by Bolingbrook, and it's been an issue ever since. You can gamble a lot more when you have a shot-blocking machine in the middle, and she was an offensive stickback machine. Those are two critical areas going forward."

Since the Bolingbrook game Montini has beaten three conference opponents by an average margin of 40 points. The going should get tougher this weekend, when NIC-9 power Rockford Boylan visits Lombard. The Titans are ranked No. 7 in the latest Class 4A poll, with their only loss to Moline. Moline also handed Montini its first loss.

"I've been looking forward to that game," Nichols said, "to see how we do against a top team in 4A now that we've had a few games under our belt without Michala. We did well against Bolingbrook, but we really didn't get a chance to work on things without her."

Nichols said the play of Adams, Courtney Thomas and Tianna Brown inside will be critical to the team's success heading into the 3A playoffs.

"Controlling the defensive glass and getting easy stickbacks," he said, "are my biggest concerns. Those are ultimately what cost us last year against Marshall."

Red Devils, by the numbers: Marv Breig's little black and white back would do any statistician proud.

Breig, a physics teacher at Hinsdale Central for 22 years, has kept stats for Red Devils sports for 21 years - the last 16 for the girls basketball team.

Most impressive is Breig's 58-page Red Devils stat and record book. Fans, parents and numbers-thirsty sports writers can find anything there from coaching bios, career statistical leaders in countless categories and an all-time girls basketball roster.

"Parents seem to appreciate it a lot," Breig said.

Breig, a fan of baseball numbers guru Bill James, tracked down information from coaches, yearbooks, box scores - you name it.

He even concocted a few obscure and interesting stats to measure Red Devils by. The "GUN" is the number of points per shot taken, calculated by dividing the number of points made from the field by the number of shots taken. The "Devil Dex" similar to a stat like it in the NBA is calculated by adding the number of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and dividing it by the number of quarters played.

A lot of math and a labor of love adds up to great reading.

"I was never an athlete," Breig said, "but I always enjoyed sports. I always wanted to contribute to the program."