Cook girls basketball notes: Schaumburg sectional promises to be one to watch
The seeds were planted last week for the IHSA state girls basketball tournament.
The teams who will bloom as state champions in the four classes from 4A to 1A will be settled on the weekend of March 6-7.
With play-in games beginning Saturday, here is a look where Cook area teams have been seeded in their respective sectionals.
At Schaumburg (Class 4A), Prospect took the top spot, followed by Hersey, Fremd, Lake Zurich, Rolling Meadows, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Conant, Stevenson, Larkin, Highland Park, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove, Wheeling and Elgin.
"This sectional has several excellent teams capable of playing deep into the playoffs," said Fremd first-year coach Jim Weaver, a hall of fame softball coach who knows something about making deep runs in that sport and as an assistant in the Fremd girls basketball program.
"We are in a really tough sectional, with Prospect the 1 seed, Hersey the 2, and Fremd the 3," said Hersey coach Courtney Ludois, a longtime assistant at Fremd before taking over the Huskies program. "It will be a battle night in and night out, but we're excited for the challenge."
Rolling Meadows opens against the Saxons at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"Our sectional is very competitive," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "And it's all about playing your best basketball at the end of the season."
Buffalo Grove drew the seventh seed.
The Bison recently defeated No. 4 seed Lake Zurich and is one of only two teams in the sectional to win 20 games.
The Bison won 10 of 11 games in January and are playing their best basketball heading into the tourney.
"We are a little disappointed about the seventh seed," Bison coach Marthy Kelly said. "That is OK. They poked the bear. We will go into these games with a chip on our shoulder and something to prove. These girls get up for big games. They have proven that time and time again."
Conant is seeded No. 8.
"Our sectional is going to be tough," said Cougars coach Todd Strauch. "It’s a lot of familiarity with seven of the top eight seeds being from the MSL and Lake Zurich is a common opponent of a lot of the teams. I think it makes for some good early games with so much familiarity."
At Maine South, the host Hawks are the No. 2 seed behind Loyola. DePaul is No. 3 followed by Glenbrook South, Evanston, Lane Tech, New Trier, Taft, Glenbrook North, Leyden, Maine East, Maine West, Niles North, Niles West, Oak Park-River Forest, Lincoln Park and Prosser.
"I think we have one of, if not the toughest, sectional in the state with four teams ranked in the top 10," said Maine East coach Lance Newman. "Many of these teams could be state qualifiers. Teams like Evanston and New Trier still pose a threat in the playoffs due to familiarity with other teams in the Central Suburban Conference."
The Blue Demons have been playing good basketball, winning six of their last seven games.
"I think it's always important to get hot rolling into the playoffs,“ Newman said. ”We have one of the best players in the state (Bella Silva) which gives us a puncher's chance in most games. Being the 11th seed, we know we will have a tough opponent in the first round of playoffs but we will give everything we have for 32 minutes."
Maine West tied for second in the CSL North with a win over Highland Park last Friday.
"We are the No. 12 seed in our sectional and play No. 5 Evanston first round," said Maine West coach Deanna Tuttle. “Our sectional is very tough, but we are excited to have the opportunity to face some of the toughest teams in the area and in the state."
At Grayslake Central (Class 3A), St. Viator earned the No. 3 seed behind Vernon Hills and Wauconda.
Resurrection is No. 4 followed by host Grayslake Central, Lake Forest, Streamwood, Grayslake North, Antioch, Lakes, Deerfield, Fenton, Ridgewood, CICS/Northtown, North Chicago and Sullivan.
"We are excited to be the No. 3," said Lions coach Kyle Braheny. "We open up against Northtown and will hopefully have the opportunity to compete against the winner of Antioch/Lake Forest for the regional championship. Both of those teams have some really nice pieces in place and it should be a competitive game. We are excited for this opportunity in front of us."
At Johnsburg (Class 2A), Willows Academy is the No. 4 seed in sub-sectional one behind Johnsburg, St. Edward and Marengo.
Genoa Kingston is No. 5 followed by Regina, Richmond-Burton, North Boone, Wheaton Academy and Harvest Westminster.
"Looking at our sectional, we've got a tough road again," said Willows coach Morgan Jahnke. "Teams like Johnsburg and St. Edward are the real deal. However, we're going to take the postseason one game at a time, starting with our first game against Regina. We're excited for the challenge, and can't wait to see what our girls can do."
The Eagles defeated Francis Parker last Friday to clinch their first ISL conference title.
"We've been in the ISL for 52 years (since Willows opened its doors), so this is quite the accomplishment for our girls,“ Jahnke said. ”Our coaches couldn't be more proud."
Area updates
Conant: The Cougars' Gianna Fresso is closing out her career in stellar fashion.
Over the last four games heading into this week, the senior guard has "really stepped up" according to Coannt coach Todd Strauch.
Fresso is averaging 12.5 points on 37% shooting from 3-point range.She is also averaging 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals.
Maine East: Just four days after she became the program's first player to score 2,000 points in a career, Blue Demons standout junior Bella Silva broke her own program record with 46 points in a 66-49 win over Niles West. Silva also had 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the game.
Fremd: First-year coach Jim Weaver has led Fremd to its 15th straight 20-win season as the Vikings (22-6) won their last two games over Barrington (57-40) and Lyons (44-41) and four of their last five including a big win at Naperville Central (23-6).
Senior guard Sophia McMillan, also a standout soccer player, has been a major contributor down the stretch.
"For us, Sophia McMillan has been playing great lately," Weaver said. "She's always drawing the toughest defensive assignment, and becoming an important contributor on offense."
That offense showed up big time when Fremd played Prospect last week and she scored 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Hoffman Estates: Heading into this week, Hoffman Estates coach Brad Riebel has seen encouraging progress as a group with improved consistency and more balanced contributions across the lineup in a recent three-game stretch.
"Defensively and on the glass, Kaleah Ward has been very active, leading the team with 32 total rebounds, helping limit second-chance opportunities," Riebel said. "Anna Sankey has continued to anchor our interior defense and had a standout offensive performance against Elk Grove, scoring a career-high 10 points, including three 3-pointers, which provided an important spark."
Riebel added that Carmella Calabrese has given the Hawks (12-15) dependable two-way play while Molly Bell has helped with spacing and timely three-point shooting. Isabella Benitez has done a nice job facilitating the offense, recording 8 assists over a three-game stretch, pushing the pace, and looking to attack when opportunities present themselves.
Offensively, Kayleigh James has been a consistent presence, leading the team with 29 points (9.7 points per game) while also contributing 20 rebounds.
Mia Przybylski has also been a reliable scoring option, totaling 23 points (7.7 points per game) and adding 19 rebounds during this stretch. Nadia Thomas has contributed on both ends, averaging 3.7 points per game and providing steady effort.
"Overall, the effort and consistency over those three games was encouraging," Riebel said. "And we’re seeing continued growth and balance as a group."
Prospect: Following in the footsteps of Mid-Suburban East Player of the Year Alli Linke becoming Prospect's all-time leading scorer (currently 1,757 points), teammate Zoe Black, a junior guard, is closing in on another program mark.
After hitting a pair of 3-pointers in a 53-35 win at Glenbrook North on Saturday, Black drew to within three of breaking the single-season program record held by Gabrielle Cottrell (73) since 2004.
Mid-Suburban East champ Prospect (18-10) goes after its first Mid-Suburban League title on Wednesday when it travels to West champ Buffalo Grove (21-7, 10-0). Prospect has played in seven past title games, the most recent in 2022 and 2025 under coach Matt Weber.
The Knights made it the championship game despite losing two starters within a week's time in January. Freshman Mia Marling and McKenna Carroll each suffered knee injuries.
The Knights still have a pair of freshmen, starter Ashley Skelton and key reserve Tess Brennan, on their current roster.
Speaking of ninth-graders, the Prospect freshman team went 23-0 this winter and was 9-0 in the MSL.
Coach Ray Collins, assisted by Meghan Zeivel, watched their team trail only once in the second half all season and the Knights’ closest win was by 12 points.
St. Viator: Coach Braheny's Lions entered the week at 17-13, coming off a 48-42 win over Lake Forest.
Top scorers in the comeback overtime win were Ava Garcia (14 rebounds, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists), Bella Gouranis (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) and Kalin McCrea (8 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 charge).
Gouranis hit double figures against Carmel (44-33 loss) with 11 points while Garcia added 9 and Evelyn Hill 6.
Garcui tossed in 15 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in a 50-25 decision over Niles West followed by Emil Walberg (7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assist) while Catherine Adamski (9 rebounds) and Hill each had 6.
Buffalo Grove: Coach Martha Kelly has the Bison (21-7, 10-0) appearing in their 18th MSL championship game and first since 2016.
BG has the second most MSL crowns (10) behind the 22 that Fremd has won. Next comes Hersey with seven while Barrington and Wheeling have three apiece.
The Bison picked up two more wins last week 69-39 over Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg (54-24) to extend their winning streak to seven straight.
Paige Watson (three 3-pointers, career-high 11 points) and Kayla Daugird led with BG with 11 points apiece. Watson became the eighth player this season to lead BG in scoring.
Hannah Weber led BG against Schaumburg with 10 points and 7 rebounds while Litsa Karavitis chipped in 8 points and 5 boards and had 11 deflections on defense. "We like to share the ball," Kelly said.
Hersey: Hersey (18-7) bounced back smartly from its loss to Prospect with a 59-42 win over Hononegah, the same school where Huskies coach Courtney Weibel Ludois starred for four seasons and became the state's all-time girls leader with 471 3-pointers (107, 102, 128 134) while paying for her father and head coach Randy Weibel.
Hersey held Prospect scoreless for a stretch of 11 minutes in the second half.
"I was happy with our defensive effort, but credit to Prospect, they really shut us down," Ludois said. "We were 1 for 18 on 3-pointers. I was really proud of our kids on Saturday, we came out hard and focused (in a 59-42 win over Hononegah).
Rolling Meadows: Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky says his team (16-10) has been "playing good basketball of late" with wins over Barrington and Palatine.
"In our win against Barrington, we had four players (Lizzy Andriano, Dalia Grandberry, Nellie Osterhues, and Abby Ramel) in double figures, which is the first time we've done that all season. Our senior leadership of Lizzy Andriano, Dalia Grandberry, Abby Ramel, and Maggie Schoessling has been outstanding."
Maine South: The Hawks poured in a school-record 16 three-pointers on Jan. 28 in a 69-56 nonconference win over visiting York. Hayden Fahy scored 23 points and had a team-high five 3-pointers.
The Hawks then defeated Bene (24-3) to get to within 5 wins of 1,000 in program history.
Coach Jeff Hamannn's club (21-8, 8-1) finished in a three-way tie for first in the Central Suburban South with Evanston and Glenbrook South. They won the tiebreaker and will face North champion Vernon Hills (20-6, 9-1) on Wednesday night in Park Ridge for the CSL championship.