North Stars now in uncharted territory

It was a regional championship game for the St. Charles North girls basketball team Thursday, but it sure didn't feel like one.

Not only was it a regional final game, but it was also a rivalry matchup, as the North Stars were pinned against fellow Upstate Eight Conference foe St. Charles East.

There was no door-busting crowd. The gym wasn't sweltering as a result of a too-packed-in-crowd. Probably no one left with a headache as a result of overwhelming noise from the audience.

"Walking in, we were all, 'OK, we are playing East (but) it doesn't really feel like we are playing East ,'" St. Charles North guard Kiley Hackbarth said. "It wasn't like, 'This is our rival, we have to beat them, we are out to get them.' It was like, 'Keep our cool, play our game, we'll be fine' and that's that."

The North Stars had other things on their minds besides how many people were in attendance and who they were playing against. They had their eyes on the big prize.

"We were focused on the regional title," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said. "Yeah, we were playing East and we always want to beat them, but we were focused. We wanted the title. It wasn't just about beating East."

The only real burst of emotion arrived in the closing seconds of the North Stars' 45-22 Class 4A regional win at Larkin in Elgin.

St. Charles East was nowhere to be found as the North Stars hugged each other and swung one another in the air. Six-foot-4 junior Kelsey Smith held tiny 5-foot-3 Hackbarth after she leaped in her arms.

The North Stars even had their coach, Sauber, hoisted in the air once the plaque was received. They settled for jumping on the back of assistant coach Jared McCall when it came time to his turn.

There was no wonder why the girls were so ecstatic. This is the first regional title in the history of girls basketball at St. Charles North.

This very same team, minus one senior from last year, lost to Maine West 34-30 in the regional final last season.

"We are so excited, this is awesome," Hackbarth said. "We are very proud of ourselves. We've worked very hard and we've come a long way. We deserve it."

"We came out and were so ready to play," said Smith, who scored a game-high 13 points. "We've been talking a long time about being the team that wins the first regional (in school history) and get in the first sectional."

With the win, the North Stars will play Jacobs in the sectional semifinal Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Hononegah in Rockton. The Eagles advanced after beating Auburn, 59-51 in the Jefferson regional in Rockford.

St. Charles East ended its season 15-14 in its second loss to the North Stars this season.

The North Stars jumped out early, held the Saints to just 4 points at the half and were able to have every player in uniform clock in.

As a result, they are heading into unfamiliar territory -- sectional play in Rockton.

And possibly, even further than that.

"It's tough (to not look ahead), but it's so exciting," Hackbarth said. "I think we can go far because this team has a lot of potential."