DuPage County girls basketball notes: Carney’s leaving her mark at Glenbard East

It’s been quite the few weeks for Glenbard East senior standout Catey Carney.

Carney, who is headed to Morton College in Cicero next season, dumped in 36 points in a game against Bartlett and also hit the game-winning basket against Glenbard South that put the Rams alone in first place in the Upstate Eight Conference after a battle of two 9-0 league unbeatens.

Against South, where she also sank 5 threes, Carney became Glenbard East’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Lauren Huber’s record of 1,294 points. Carney played with Huber for one season in 2020. Carney also holds the school’s all-time 3-pointers made mark.

Carney, whose career high is 38 points, averaged 24 points during a recent 4-game stretch and drained 18 threes during that span. She’s averaging nearly 17 points a game this season.

“I’m able to handle the ball better,” said Carney, whose goal is to play Division I after Morton College. “Last year and the year before, one of my biggest weaknesses was being able to go left. Coaches would always say force her to go left. Now, other teams are trying to not let me tough the ball. I’m able to handle the ball and go in any direction. I can hit a pull-up jumper or a step-back. Now, I can score outside, inside and mid-range — any of the three levels.”

Glenbard North update: Two difference-makers for the Panthers have been Lilah Szabo and Avery Abderhalden. “Lilah has stepped her game up tremendously for us the last few games and is making great progress,” coach Pam Decheva said. “Avery is another senior who plays killer defense for us and can lock down any player on the opposite team.”

Glenbard South update: The Raiders have won five of their last six. Brooklynn Moore (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Allie Mizwicki (10 points) lead South (15-7, 10-1 Upstate Eight) in scoring, but coach Eric Daca noted multiple other players average about 6 points a game. South averages 47 points per game and is only giving up 35 points. The Raiders have a rematch against UEC-leader Glenbard East on Feb. 2.

Glenbard West update: The reasons behind West’s 21-5 overall mark and 8-2 West Suburban Silver lot? Coach Kristi Faulkner said there are many.

Three-year varsity starter and junior captain Julia Benjamin leads the team in scoring and logged her 1,000th career point recently. Classmate Lauren Escalante leads in steals and assists and pulled in 10 rebounds against Hinsdale Central and 14 against York. Junior Makenna Yeager sank a game-winning shot against York and is the team’s second-leading scorer. Freshman Ellie Noble had 18 points and 17 rebounds against Hinsdale Central and is the team’s leading rebounder. Faulkner also gave high praise to the team’s bench.

Naperville North update: Natalie Frempong averages 14.2 points, 2.5 steals and 2.4 assists, while Ava Podkasik averages 6.6 points, 6 rebounds, 3.7 deflections and 3.3 steals for the Huskies (10-13 overall, 1-5 DuPage Valley).

Neuqua Valley update: Neuqua (15-9 overall) started the week in second in the DuPage Valley at 5-1, a game behind Waubonsie. The two teams meet Feb. 1 in a possible conference title situation. Coach Mike Williams pointed out of the team’s 9 setbacks, seven have been within 5 points, including a 1-point loss to Waubonsie. Neuqua, winners of 5 of 7 recently, is paced by seniors Kylee Norkus, Zoe Navarro and Caitlin Washington, along with sophomore Nalia Clifford. The Wildcats average 59 points a game.

St. Francis update: The Spartans (15-10 overall) won the GCAC White regular-season title with a 6-0 record and will compete in the GCAC tourney next week. St. Francis was 8-8 at one point and has since rattled off wins in 7 of 9 contests.

The turnaround, coach Jeff Gerdeman explained, has been possible because of players such as Dolly Smith (6 points, team-leader in assists, tied in steals and 4 rebounds per game as a point guard) and Stephanie Sullivan. Riley Austin averages 13 points (32 percent from 3, 78 percent from the foul line), while Lynsey Cleveland, who both starts and comes off the bench, is tied for the team lead in rebounds.

Waubonsie Valley update: The Warriors continue to chug along, sporting a 21-2 overall mark and leading the DuPage Valley Conference at 6-0 at week’s start.

Danyella Mporokoso averages 20.4 points and 6.6 rebounds while Hannah Laub has drained 53 threes and Lily Newton is shooting 74 percent from the foul line. Mporokoso has two games with 30-or-more points this season.

Wheaton North update: A nice run of 7 wins in an 8-game stretch had the Falcons at 15-9 overall (3-6 DuKane). Sara Abdul averages 17.7 points and 2.7 steals, while Zoey Bohmer averages 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

West Chicago update: With 17 wins to start the week, the Wildcats tied last year’s record, which was their best since 2011-2012. If WeGo reaches 20 wins, it would be only the fourth time in program history that has happened. The 2000-2001 Kim Wallner-coached team went 27-4. A third-place UEC finish would be the school’s best in more than a decade.

Junior Jasmyn Trigueros averages 16 points a game and sits at 1,338 career points, which is first all-time at the school. Coach Mark Fitzgerald said Trigueros has a real chance to hit 2,000 career points next season. Freshman Giselle Barriera drained a buzzer-beating 3 in a win at Bartlett. Seniors Sydney Bennema (second in rebounding) and Ellie WIngstedt (second in scoring) also have been key.

Benet Academy update: The Redwings (16-5 overall) sit in second place in the East Suburban Catholic at 6-1. While tied with Nazareth at 6-1, Naz defeated Benet in an earlier meeting. The two teams play again Monday.

Benet started the week riding a 7-game winning streak with development a key tenet for coach Joe Kilbride. Sophomores Emma Briggs and Bridget Rifenburg and freshman Ava Mersigner are keys in that area, he said.

Benet scoring leaders include Emilia Sularski, Lindsay Harzich, Briggs, Aria Mazza, Rifenburg and Maggie Sularski. Benet had four players in double digits in a recent game.

Lisle update: All sorts of good happening with the Lions (15-9, 6-3 Illinois Central Eight; 1-point losses to leader Coal City and Peotone). Individually, Crystal McHugh is shooting 49.7 percent from 2 as a guard. Lisle’s defense is allowing 38.3 points, down 13.2 points per game from last season. Lisle has outscored opponents 249-125 (transition points), 396-315 (points off turnovers) and 476-340 (points in the paint).

Point guard McKenna Kane is Lisle’s all-time leader in scoring (1,396 points) and assists. She averages team highs in points (20.4), rebounds (8.2) and steals (5.4). Coach Nick Balaban added that seniors Taniya Cates, Kiley Ebert, Gracie Magis, junior Ally Doering and sophomore Ally Russell also have been integral parts. Ebert pulled in a career-high 12 rebounds against ICE foe Herscher.

Metea Valley update: Coach Keith McIntosh said Lucy Burk has been one of the team’s most consistent players offensively and provides good outside shooting and leadership. He added Arainna Hammons also has been a consistent threat on offense and a defensive stopper.

Montini update: It’s been a busy recent stretch for the Broncos (17-5, 4-2 GCAC), who went 2-2 in 4 games, including a nice home win against Detroit (Michigan) Country Day, a highly touted Michigan foe, coach Shannon Spanos noted. Senior captain Viki Matulevicius leads in scoring at 16 points and rebounding at 6.3. She’s been the team’s leading rebounder in 16 of 22 games. Junior Nikki Kerstein averages 14.7 points, 4.6 assists and 3 steals. She’s been the team’s leading assist person in 16 of the 22 games. Senior co-captain Alyssa Epps averages 8.3 points and 4 rebounds.