Girls basketball notes: Wauconda stays perfect after winning Northern Illinois Holiday Classic
There has been no slowing down for the Wauconda girls basketball team.
Coach Jaime Dennis’ squad moved to 14-0 and 5-0 in Northern Lake County Conference action after a 49-19 win over Round Lake on Tuesday where Sophie Giles (11 points), Avery Geoghan (9 points), Kelsey Funkhouser (9 points, 6 steals), Isabela Campdesuner (8 points) and Alexia Manalo (7 points, 5 steals) contributed to a balanced scoring attack.
After winning the McHenry Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, 54-50 win over Crystal Lake South in the finale, the Bulldogs recorded a league win over Grant (48-32) and then beat Normal University (35-31) in the Grow the Game event at Barrington. Giles was the player of the game for Wauconda at Grow the Game.
Speaking of Giles, a freshman guard, she is averaging 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. “Sophie is starting to make an impact,” Dennis said.
Junior forward Alessandra Rodriguez averages 7.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals, while Manalo, a senior point guard, averages 5.6 points, 4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2 steals. “Alexia is our floor leader,” Dennis said. “Without her, we struggle as a team.”
Antioch update: The Sequoits went 2-2 at the Lisle Cage Classic and finished sixth. Heidi Rathmann had 24 points in an opening-game win against Lisle. Rathmann averaged 13 points in the remaining 3 games and earned an all-tournament spot for the fourth year in a row.
“Heidi continues to be an offensive threat we can count on from game to game to lead our scoring,” Sequoits coach Jamie D’Andrea said. “She’s kicked up her defense a notch and has had several good games in this last stretch, so we’re excited to see how she plays in the second half of the NLCC (Northern Lake County Conference) schedule.”
After the break, Antioch lost 68-29 to St. Ignatius in the Grow the Game series while missing 4 players due to various reasons. “It was a great experience because the series promotes female players, female head coaches and female refs,” D’Andrea said.
The Sequoits then downed Lakes 53-39 in a Northern Lake County Conference matchup to move to 7-11 overall and 4-2 in league play.
D’Andrea also has been pleased with the play of Evie Baronello, who led the team with 12 points against St. Ignatius. “Evie has also come on strong,” she said. “She played her best game of late against St. Ignatius.”
Carmel Catholic update: The Corsairs finished third at Loyola Academy, beating Oak Park-River Forest, Butler Prep and Rolling Meadows (in the third-place game) and losing to Peoria Richwoods.
Freshman Liv Johnson made the Loyola all-tournament first team after leading the tournament in rebounds. Josie Hartman made the second team.
The Corsairs also recently downed Joliet Catholic 62-41 to move to 5-1 in their last 6 games. Carmel started the week 12-4 and 4-0 in East Suburban Catholic action.
Coach Ben Berg also has been thrilled with the play of junior Maliyah Mays and freshman Ada Lindal. Over a recent 5-game span, Mays averaged 8 points and shot 38% from 3 to go with 10 deflections and 7 steals. “Maliyah is playing some of the best on-ball defense around,” Berg said. Lindal during that same 5-game stretch, averaged 4.5 points and shot 38% from 3. “Ada has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio at the point guard position and also is playing excellent on-ball defense,” Berg added.
Johnson over that 5-game period averaged 16 points, 9.2 rebounds on .667 shooting from 2 and 42% shooting from 3 (85% from the foul line), plus a 1.88 assist-to-turnover ratio with 13 deflections and 8 steals.
Grant update: Grant went 2-2 at the McHenry tournament, winning its last 2 games against Marian Central Catholic and Lakes. Mya Clark had 9 points against Marian and 10 against Lakes.
“Mya has been playing very well off the bench all season and has started some games,” Bulldogs coach Roger Lass noted.
Sophie Connealy also has been a continued bright spot. “Sophie has been playing very well overall all season,” Lass said. “She plays great defense, rebounds well and is improving her 3-point shot every day.”
Grayslake Central update: The Rams (7-7, 4-0 Northern Lake County) went 1-3 at the St. Viator Blenner Classic and finished sixth. After fighting through illness and injuries and losses in the first 2 games there, Central finished strong, defeating Chicago Amundsen 51-35 and losing a hard-fought 53-45 game to St. Viator, coach Steve Ikenn noted.
Peyton Hoffmann averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2.3 assists at St. Viator and earned all-tournament accolades.
Ikenn said senior Ava Henne has stepped things up on multiple fronts this season where she is averaging 6.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
“Ava has been playing her usual stellar defense, but is also scoring more,” Ikenn said. “She is one of our captains and is providing great leadership in addition to all she does for us with her play on both ends of the floor.”
Ikenn added freshman Lucy Otto has been key in providing the Rams with key minutes at both the wing and post. “Lucy has been improving daily and provides us with great energy and tough, physical defense when she is on the floor,” she said.
Otoo tied a career high with 6 points and had 5 rebounds against Glenbrook North.
Ikenn pointed out Central has played a challenging slate with 4 of its 7 losses coming against teams currently sitting in the Daily Herald’s Top 20 rankings.
“We have worked hard and grown as a team over the first half of the season,” Ikenn said. “We are definitely battle tested, and we hope to build off that and have a great second half of the season.”
Grayslake North update: The Knights have won 5 of their last 7 and stood at 7-11 overall and 3-2 in NLCC play to start the week.
North finished third at the McHenry tournament where it avenged a loss to Deerfield and beat the Warriors the second time by 20 points.
“We have been playing better and look forward to a strong second half of the season,” Knights coach Sean Crary said.
Crary lauded the recent play of Ashlyn Stoneham (14 points per game) and Sara Carrasco. “Ashlyn has become a more complete player,” Crary said. “Passing and rebounding have improved to balance out her scoring. Sara does the dirty work for our team. Rebounds and plays excellent defense. She’s part of the reason we have held our own against taller teams.”
Lakes update: The Eagles (5-10, 2-2 Northern Lake County) have been led by the duo of freshman Gianna Gray and sophomore Ryan Horvath. Over the last 7 games, Gray is averaging 12 points and 4 teals, while Horvath averages 10 points and 3.1 steals while serving as the team’s primary ballhandler.
“Gianna and Ryan have led us all season,” Lakes coach Grant Murray said.
The Eagles picked up a win over Christmas against Prairie Ridge and then recently dropped a game to a strong Cary-Grove team.
“Our turnover percentage has dropped dramatically as the game goes on,” Murray said. “With a young team, this is an important metric for improvement.”
In a NLCC loss to Antioch on Tuesday, Gray had 15 points and Horvath added 12.
Lake Zurich update: The Bears finished sixth at the Batavia-Geneva Fox River Classic with a 2-2 record. The Bears started the week 9-7 overall and 4-1 in North Suburban action.
Alex Nowak-Tice and Layne Nordstrom were all-tournament at Fox River. Nowak-Tice is averaging a double-double at 10.8 points and 10.2 rebounds this season, while Nordstrom has crossed the 350 career-assist barrier.
Coach Chris Bennett noted the team welcomed back Addie Leonard from an injury that cost her the first 2 months of the season. “We look forward to Addie’s impact,” he said. “She had a terrific summer and we expect big things.”
Libertyville update: The Wildcats (12-3, 5-0 North Suburban) took second at their Christmas tournament with a 3-1 mark. Libertyville downed Lake Forest Academy (58-30), Rockford Auburn (62-30) and Neuqua Valley (62-29) before losing to Mother McAuley (49-32). The McAuley loss snapped a 6-game winning streak.
Lily Fisher and Elle Knight were all-tournament picks. Fisher is averaging 18.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists to go with a 1.13 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting .402 from the field and .282 from the 3-point line. Knight averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds in the tournament, while Ella Pawelczyk averaged 10 points and shot .393 from 3 in the tournament.
Coach Greg Pedersen also has been pleased with the play of freshman Addie Casey, who averages 4.5 points per game to go with 7 rebounds a contest. She also committed no turnovers in the holiday tournament. “Addie is playing great defense for us,” he said.
Mundelein update: The Mustangs (12-6, 4-1 North Suburban) went 1-3 at the Dundee-Crown Komaromy Classic, winning against South Elgin and dropping games to Lake Park, Fenwick and Huntley. “We played strong competition and competed,” Mundelein coach Sarah Teipel said.
Mundelein went 1-1 in the Grow the Game event with a loss to a strong Glenbard West team and a win against Oswego.
Casey Vyverman was an all-tournament pick at D-C and also was the player of the game for Mundelein in both games in the Grow the Game series. Vyverman recently went over the 1,500 career-point mark against South Elgin where she had 25 points and 4 steals. Vyverman then broke the school’s all-time scoring record against Huntley where she scored 23 points. Vyverman currently sits at 1,592 career points. She’s averaging 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1.6 steals and has hit 36 threes and is shooting .918 from the foul line (45 of 49).
Grace Dunigan averages 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 deflections and 1.5 steals, while Anahya Castro is at 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3.4 deflections, 2.2 steals and 2 blocks. “Grace has been stepping up with consistent ballhandling against pressure and with her rebounding,” Teipel said. “Anahya’s defense and hustle have given us a huge lift.”
Teipel said the team’s busy recent schedule was a good thing. “We had a busy break of games and it made us tougher,” she said. “We are looking forward to getting back into conference play.”
Round Lake update: The Panthers went 2-1 at the Kirkland Hiawatha tournament, finishing second there. Round Lake downed Rockford East 42-26 and lost to Rockford Jefferson 45-34 in the title game.
After the break, Round Lake (5-8, 0-5 Northern Lake County) downed McHenry 40-25. Emma Franks led the way with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 8 deflections and 9 steals. Brianna Arteaga added 9 points, 4 rebounds, 7 deflections and 3 steals, while Kaleigh Skowronski was strong on both ends of the floor with 5 points, 6 rebounds 5 key assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, coach Molly Hennig noted.
Franks was an all-tournament pick at Hiawatha where she averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, 8 deflections and 3 steals. On the season, Skowronski, a senior, is averaging 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists, while Franks, a sophomore, is at 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7 deflections and 3 steals, and Arteaga, a junior, averages 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 deflections and 3 steals.
“Kaleigh, Emma and Brianna have started to put together a consistent force on both ends of the court that has helped set the tone for the rest of our team,” Hennig said.
Vernon Hills update: The Cougars went 3-1 in their holiday tournament, losing to Glenbrook North in the championship, while scoring notable wins against New Trier and Lincoln-Way West. Emma Jocson and Eve Engler were all-tournament picks. Jocson, a junior, had 16 points against New Trier and 19 against Lincoln-Way West, while Engler, a sophomore, had 19 points against New Trier and 26 against Lincoln-Way West.
Madison Mays is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game and had a recent 13-point game against Metea Valley. Coach Paul Brettner added Keira Thomas has been steady on both sides of the ball.
After the break, Vernon Hills lost to Lyons Township in the Grow the Game event where assistant coach Addie Quiles served as head coach in that game. Engler was named Vernon Hills’ player of the game against Lyons.
The Cougars (13-4 overall) also moved to 5-0 in Central Suburban North action with a recent 41-36 win over Niles North.