Girls basketball notes: Black, Linke putting their names in Prospect’s record books

The Coach Kipp's Hoopfest, directed by Jim O'Boye for the last 36 years, made its first stop at Maine West High School on Jan. 17.

The two-day girls basketball shootout was renamed by O'Boye for Maine West's late hall of fame coach Derril Kipp in 2017 so holding it on the Warriors' floor was quite appropriate.

And in the final game on that Saturday night in Des Plaines, Prospect's Zoe Black used the event's newest stage to deliver the most prolific offensive game in program history.

The junior sharpshooter fired home program-records of 42 points and 11 3-pointers in a 79-60 win over Chicago Phillips (13-10).

She converted 15-of-24 shots from the floor.

Black broke the former record of 37 points held by Taylor Will (2014) and former Knights head coach Gabrielle Cottrell (2004).

Black's 11 3-pointers broke the previous record of nine held by Kellyn Bailey (2005).

Knights senior Alli Linke, headed to play at Murray State, added 23 points against Phillips. With her 18 points last Wednesday against Maine South, Linke now stands 67 points away from the all-time scoring record at Prospect held by Will (1,746).

Palatine: On their senior night, the Pirates dropped a tough one to Mundelein losing 40-37 in overtime, but the seniors had a special treat prior to the game.

Palatine coach Sarah Davis sang the national anthem.

"I surprised the seniors and sang the National Anthem before the game," Davis said with a laugh. "I’ve been asked for the last three years, and finally gave in."

Savannah Apolinar led the Pirates (15 points. 4 rebounds, 3 assists) followed by Grace Kline (14 points, 5 rebounds). Katie May led with 10 rebounds while Andrea Fonou added 6 rebounds.

"We have a tough schedule, but our girls are coming together and working hard to improve," Davis said. "While we aren’t winning as many games as we would like this season, we’re learning more about the game and improving our overall basketball IQ."

The Pirates also lost a tough one to New Trier, 48-36. After being held scoreless in the first quarter, they scored 15 points in the second quarter to go into halftime only down 7 points.

Leading the way were Grace Kline (15 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals), Savannah Apolinar (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), freshman Bailey Weber (6 points, 2 assists) and Fonou (5 points, 2 steals).

Hoffman Estates: With its 12-10 record, the Hawks have three more wins than the last two seasons combined.

"We have a lot of team bondings and we all get along really well together," said Mia Przybylski. who led the Hawks with 16 points in a 45-41 win over Maine East at the Coaches vs. Cancer event on Jan. 19. "And we are glued together, jelling with each other really well."

Przybylski is one of eight freshmen and three sophomores on coach Brad Reibel's seventh team at Hoffman Estates.

"Over the past couple of weeks, we've seen solid growth and more balanced contributions from this group," Riebel said.

Kayleigh James has been a consistent scoring leader, averaging 9.3 points while Przybylski has stepped up offensively at 7.2 points per game and has also been very active on the glass, pulling down 32 rebounds over the stretch.

Carmella Calabrese has provided steady two-way play, averaging just over 5 points per game.

Defensively, Anna Sankey has been a key presence inside with 30 rebounds, helping anchor the Hawks' interior defense.

Nadia Thomas has contributed offensively as well, averaging 5.6 points per game, giving Hoffman another reliable scoring option.

Kaleah Ward has chipped in offensively, averaging 4.2 points per game and providing timely scoring when needed, while Molly Bell has stepped up with big three-point shooting.

Isabella Benitez has done a nice job facilitating the offense while being aggressive and looking to attack.

"Overall, the effort and consistency have been encouraging, and we’re seeing more players step up in key moments," Reibel added.

Maine South: Maine South (18-6, 7-1) continues to take pride in the fact that it is a balanced team with multiple players stepping up.

Only junior guard Hayden Fahy averages double figures at 12.5 points.

In its last five games heading into this week, the Hawks had four different leading scorers: Jan. 13 vs Batavia (Hayden Fahy, 18 points); Jan. 14 at Downers Grove North (Phoebe O'Shea 12 points); Jan. 16 vs New Trier (Gianna LaVecchia (18 points); Jan. 17 vs. Nazareth (Emily Currey, 10 points); Jan. 21 vs Prospect: (Hayden Fahy: career-high 22 points).

LaVecchia, who leads the team in assists and steals, continues to have an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2:1.

Rolling Meadows: Senior Abby Ramel is averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds for the Mustangs (14-8) and was named the Player of the Game in Coach Kipp's Hoopsfest in a victory over Downers Grove North.

Lizzy Andriano continues to ignite the Mustangs on both ends of the floor and leads the team with 88 assists and 55 steals.

"We received important contributions from everyone on our roster last week, and we will continue to need that going forward," said RM coach Ryan Kirkorsky.

Hersey: The Huskies beat Lake Central, Ind., 46-18 at Coach Kipp's Hoopsfest, holding the Indians to one point in the first quarter and five in the first half.

Kate Donovan led the way with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists while Sadie Marks added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Etta Fischer chipped in 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Glenbrook South (17-6) made 10 3-pointers, shooting 45% from long distance, in a 67-45 win over Hersey. Kate Donovan led the Huskies with 10 points and 4 assists while Marks added 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Buffalo Grove: The Bison earned a 49-44 win against a 15-4 Vernon Hills team as Hannah Weber picked up her 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards.

Kayla Daugird led all scorers with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals while Litsa Karavitis chipped in 10 with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. "It was a good team effort against a very good Vernon Hills team," said Bison coach Martha Kelly.

BG (15-7, 6-0) visits Conant (9-10, 5-1) in a key Mid-Suburban West game on Wednesday.

Barrington: Coach Babbi Barreiro's Fillies connected for eight 3-pointers and Isla Koertner had four of them with a team-high 18 points in a 55-43 loss to Lake Zurich in which the Fillies led by 2 points at intermission.

In the game before, the Fillies defeated Larkin, 76-42, with junior Lily Richmond putting up 14 points.

Maine East: Trailing by 9 points going into the fourth quarter, the Blue Demons rallied for a thrilling 54-53 overtime win over Highland Park.

Junior Bella Silva, who is 55 points from 2,000 for her career, sparked the comeback and finished with 36 points and 8 rebounds. She shot 48% from the floor with seven 3-pointers, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Teammate Cumiyah Preister chipped in 7 points.

Maine East went 3-1 and took third place in its Martin Luther King Jr. tourney with wins over Rockford Jefferson (Heidi Cortez: 12 points, four 3-pointers), Streamwood (Silva: 39 points, 13 rebounds) and Woodstock (SIlva scored a program-record 44 points.)

Sophomore Allie Siwy, a recent varsity call-up, scored 21 points in the three games while coming off the bench.

The Blue Demons' only loss came in the first game of the tourney to Johnsburg, who won the tournament and is 22-0.

The Skyhawks ran a triangle-and-2 with Silva being face guarded by two girls the entire first half. Silva did not play in the fourth quarter. She still got to 10 points and finished the tournament with 132 points on 50.6% shooting with 43 free throws, 38 rebounds and 10 steals.

"We got some nice scoring performances from Heidi Cortez and newcomer Allie Siwy along the way," said Blue Demons assistant coach Evan Rabens. "And some strong defensive efforts from Cumiyah Preister, Ashley Ankum and Talia Rafidi."

Maine West: Senior Kaitlyn Nutley scored a season-high 23 points in a 45-39 win over Niles North.

"It was our senior night game," said Warriors coach Deanna Tuttle. "And her performance helped lead us to victory.“

The Warriors were supposed to host a Pack the Place game against Maine East last Friday but it was canceled due to the severe cold weather. It has been rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m., but is no longer a Pack the Place with the boys team due to scheduling conflicts.

Wheeling: The Wildcats took a 46-33 decision from Zion-Benton. Key players included Madison O'Rourke (12 points, 4 steals), Jillian Franz (8 points, 10 rebounds), Mia Smith (9 points and 7 rebounds) and Nicole Sterkowiec (7 points, 8 rebounds).

Elk Grove: The Wirtz's have made a difference this winter.

"JJ Wirtz has really stepped up for us this year offensively," said Grenadiers coach Courtney Lindfors. "Katie has become a game changer for us defensively."