Who had the area’s top prep basketball performances of the week?
The madness is underway.
The girls basketball playoffs kicked off Saturday and began in earnest with Monday’s regional semifinal action. Meanwhile, the High Five presses on.
We’ll keep rolling out the area’s top performances of the week until the last player is standing. Hopefully standing proudly with a state championship trophy.
We have another batch of newcomers in this edition. Let’s get to it.
5. Abby Ramel, Rolling Meadows
Ramel’s effort may not look like domination, until you see the final score.
The 5-foot-11 junior forward, named to the Mid-Suburban League all-conference team, scored 24 points in a 38-28 victory over Palatine that pushed the Mustangs to the 20-win mark.
Ramel added 8 rebounds and 3 steals in the MSL win.
4. AJ Demirov, Crystal Lake South
The 6-foot senior point guard became the program’s all-time leading scorer, topping Phil Wallace’s 20-year-old mark, during his 10-point performance in the Gators’ 78-53 victory over Crystal Lake Central.
Demirov scored 30 points earlier in the week in a 65-45 victory over Huntley. He had a combined 13 assists in the two wins.
3. Ella Todd, Fremd
Todd, jersey No. 22, powered the Vikings to their 22nd Mid-Suburban League championship game victory, a 48-37 win over Prospect.
The 6-foot senior guard, committed to Utah, led Fremd with 25 points as the Vikings rallied from an early 10-0 deficit with a 20-0 run. Todd scored 10 second-quarter points to help Fremd to a double-digit halftime lead.
Not a bad MSL finale for the West’s player of the year.
2. OJ Powell, Willowbrook
It’s not surprising this double-double machine is a three-sport athlete.
With his football and track and field talents on hold, Powell came up with 34 points and 13 rebounds in a 75-67 West Suburban Gold win over Addison Trail. The 6-foot-2 junior forward also blocked three shots.
Powell, who the previous week became the youngest player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, scored 21 points against Christ the King and had 17 points and 7 rebounds against Hinsdale South in a busy week for the Warriors.
1. Andrew Hill, IC Catholic Prep
Speaking of double-double machines, Hill was a monster for the Knights in a pair of wins last week.
The 6-foot-6 senior forward started with 30 points and 12 rebounds in a 72-45 victory over St. Francis de Sales. Hill then had 28 points and 13 rebounds in a 72-44 win over Providence St. Mel.
Maybe we’re breaking the rules here, but we’d be remiss not mentioning Hill’s 29 points and 12 rebounds the previous week against defending Class 3A champion and top-ranked DePaul College Prep.