Cook girls basketball notes: Championship season has arrived
It's time to settle some championships in girls basketball.
First, it's the Mid-Suburban League (Hersey at Fremd) and the Central Suburban League (Maine West vs. Maine South) championships this Wednesday.
Then the following three weeks, it's regional, sectional, supersectional and state championships.
Two of the sectionals involving area Cook Country teams will be decided on the home floors of Class 4A state-ranked teams — No. 5 Maine South (27-1) and No. 10 Fremd (23-6).
The Maine South sectional includes four area teams: the host Hawks, Maine West, Maine East and Leyden.
The No. 2-seeded Hawks (Loyola is No. 1) are enjoying one of their best seasons in program history. They will open in the play in the Lane Tech regional against No. 13 Maine East (13-13).
Veteran coach Jeff Hamann knows anything can happen in the state tourney.
"For us to be able to play in our gym at the sectional, we need to win the regional first," he said. "We will continue to remain on the task at hand and focus on going 1-0 on game day. If we are able to advance to the sectional, that would be special for our players, our school and our community."
The last time Maine South hosted a sectional was 2008 when the Hawks were the No. 7 seed. They ended up winning it, ultimately defeating another top-seeded Loyola team in the championship game.
"Our sectional this year, like every other year, is obviously extremely competitive," Hamann said. "Along with all of the schools in the CSL, there is Loyola (currently 29-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 4A). It does not happen very often where one sectional features two of the top five teams in the state."
Hamann says the key to this year's success has been the Hawks' willingness to share the ball.
"At any given time we will have five girls on the floor who are threats to score," he said. "This is evident in the fact that throughout the season, we have had six different leading scorers."
In addition, one metric that is used for success in basketball is the assist-to-turnover ratio. For Maine South, 65 percent of its field goals are assisted.
However, and maybe more impressively, the Hawks' team ratio is 1.44-1, which Hamann points to as a huge key for his team's success.
Maine East coach Lance Newman brings one of the top freshman in the area to the Lane Tech regional. Bella Silva scored 31 points in a recent 48-43 win over Vernon Hills to reach 500 points for the season.
"Every year it feels like this is the toughest sectional,:" said Newman, who was an assistant coach for Stevenson when it won the 2015 boys basketball state title and for the Maine West girls basketball state championship team in 2019.
"The majority of our losses came in the final minutes," the rookie coach added. "We have been able to turn the program around in just one season.“
No. 11 Maine West's first game in the sectional will be against No. 6 New Trier (15-14) in the Mather regional.
The Warriors (12-12) are co-champions of the CSL North with Highland Park. They will play for the CSL title because they defeated Highland Park twice in league play.
Coach Deanna Kuzmanic's team rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat Niles West on the road last Friday, giving them the co-title. "We are extremely proud of our girls’ fight," Kuzmanic said. "And we are excited to see what we can do in the playoffs."
The final area team in the Maine South sectional is Leyden (15-10). The No. 12-seeded Eagles meet No. 5 Glenbrook North (19-7) in the Niles North regional.
Fremd sectional: The Fremd Vikings have put together another stellar season under their hall of fame coach Dave Yates.
The top-seeded MSL West champs head to the Buffalo Grove regional where they will play the winner of No. 17 Wheeling (7-21) and No. 16 Buffalo Grove (4-22).
The other semifinal pairs No. 8 Hampshire against No. 9 Palatine (12-15).
"We look forward to another opportunity to take the court as a team," said first-year Wheeling coach Kelie Brasse. "With the Fremd sectional being MSL heavy, we look forward to competing against familiar opponents and hopefully making the right adjustments to walk away with a postseason win.“
The Wildcats have defeated one team in the sectional (Hoffman Estates) and played competitive games against Streamwood and Buffalo Grove.
"The Fremd sectional is a tough sectional," said Bison coach Martha Kelly, who is also the girls cross country and softball coach at BG. "We are excited to host a regional."
The Schaumburg regional has a pair of MSL teams chasing after the title with Schaumburg (24-12) from the MSL West and MSL East runner-up Prospect (18-12),
The No. 4 Saxons will open against No. 12 Streamwood (12-13) while the No. 5 Knights start against No. 12 South Elgin (7-21).
Coach Jacqie Strauch has guided her Saxons to their winningest season since 2008 and watched senior Madi Dolecki reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career.
Strauch would love a deep run in the tourney as she is taking a pause from coaching following the season.
"Being MSL heavy, I think our sectional is a tough one," said the ninth-year Saxons coach. " Many of these teams have already battled it out and it will be fun to see who makes it on top."
The Saxons placed second in the West, their highest finish in many seasons. Prospect was third in the East.
"Seven teams from the top 50 teams in the Class 4A MaxPreps poll should make for a very competitive sectional," said Prospect coach Matt Weber. "There are a lot of familiar teams with 11 from the MSL in the sectional."
Prospect played 17 games against teams from the MaxPreps top 50.
"The reason why we played the schedule we did was to prepare us for the state tournament," Weber added. "We are excited to have an opportunity to get to a regional championship and reach one of our goals which is winning a regional championship."
MSL East champion Hersey (20-8) is the No. 3 seed in the sectional and opens play in the Elgin regional against the No. 14 seeded host Maroons (9-20). The other semifinal features No. 6 Barrington (15-10) against No. 11 Conant (8-18).
First-year Hersey coach Courtney Ludois knows a lot about winning regionals and sectionals, having served as an assistant the past nine years for Fremd coach Dave Yates.
The Huskies won their 15th MSL divisional title and eighth straight game at Prospect last Wednesday.
"We feel like we’re playing our best basketball right now," Ludois said. "We want to continue to play as a team, improve and compete. We have high hopes for the sectional if we continue to compete and play as a team then who knows how far we can go."
No. 7 seeded Rolling Meadows (21-7), which was second behind Hersey in the MSL East, competes in the Dundee-Crown regional and will face the No. 10 seeded host Royals (16-12).
The other semifinal matches No. 2 Stevenson (24-3) against the winner of No. 18 Hoffman Estates (5-22) vs. No. 15 Dundee-Crown (6-18). That play-in game will be played this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Batavia sectional: Elk Grove (6-21) is the only MSL team not playing in the Fremd sectional.
Former Driscoll and Elk Grove great Courtney Lindffors brings her Elk Grove Grenadiers to the Batavia sectional where the host Bulldogs (23-5) are the No. 1 seed and among those receiving votes in the Class 4A state poll.
The No. 15-seeded Grenadiers will face No. 3 Geneva (18-8) at the Glenbard West regional. The other semifinal matches No. 6 Glenbard West (23-6) vs. No. 11 Willowbrook (13-17).
Lindsfor said the Grens went nearly a month during the season without half of their team to injuries.
"It is exciting to finally have almost everyone back,: she said. "Our seniors are really stepping it up in this second half of the season and I am excited to see what this team can do in the playoffs. The Batavia sectional has a lot of good teams that are playing really well right now. It will be a battle but we are excited to compete."
Class 3A Antioch sectional: No. 10 seeded St. Viator (6-23) heads south to the Wheaton Academy regional to face No. 5 and host Wheaton Academy (16-9) of West Chicago. The other semifinal pairs No. 3 Wauconda (18-5) and No. 14 Ridgewood (6-17).
Senior Mia Bergstom's 18 points against Marist on Saturday gave the Saint Louis pledge 1,524 career points, moving her into third place on the program's all-time scoring list behind her sister Joy (1,824) and Myia Clark (1,695).
Current St. Viator assistant coach Denise Walker is fourth with 1,523 points.
Grayslake Central (22-6) , which was the runner-up to Glenbrook North at the St. Viator Blenner Classic, is the No. 1 seed at Antioch.