The Daily Herald's Players of the Week
The Daily Herald's Players of the Week for the Northwest and Western suburbs.
Lake County
Casey Hopper, Libertyville
She moved to Tennessee last basketball season, then came back a month later. The Wildcats are sure glad she did. The 5-foot-11 junior scored a season-high 24 points in a 45-38 win over Stevenson. She went 9 of 13 from the floor and 6 of 8 from the foul line, and also grabbed 9 rebounds.
Trey Williams, Lakes
Trey was hitting treys. Actually, the senior sharp-shooting guard was hitting most of his shots en route to a career-high 37 points in the Eagles' 76-64 win over Grant. Williams sank 11 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers. He also went 10 of 10 from the foul line.
Fox Valley
Cory Bazany, Burlington Central
Bazany, the Rockets' 5-foot-11 senior forward scored 21 points in a 56-42 win over Streamwood then came back with 16 points and 7 rebounds in a 58-48 win over rival Hampshire as BC opened defense of its Big Northern East title with a big win.
Joel Benson, Westminster Christian
A senior forward, Benson posted 31 points and 17 rebounds in a 68-62 victory at Illiana Christian, helping Westminster beat its Private School League rival for the first time in school history. The next night Benson made history of his own by scoring his 1,000th career point in a 67-40 victory over Francis Parker. In the two victories he totaled 47 points, 28 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots.
Northwest suburban
Ellen Ayoub, Buffalo Grove
Ayoub came up big in the second half against state-ranked Wheeling. The senior connected for 11 of her team-high 14 points in the final 16 minutes when Bison rallied for 44-34 victory. The 5-foot-10 guard hit big baskets and free throws down the stretch to help the state's No. 1-ranked Bison extend their lead. She also grabbed 5 rebounds and made 2 steals.
Griffin Dwyer, Hersey
Dwyer helped get Hersey fired up about a couple of rivalry victories last weekend. The senior guard scored 17 points, hit three 3-pointers and had 7 assists in a 55-49 Mid-Suburban East win over Prospect. Two nights later, Dwyer scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime and hit two 3s in a 54-37 win at cross-town rival St. Viator.
Tri-Cities
Lauren Heck, Aurora Christian
The Eagles went 2-0 last week, thanks to this junior guard's 28 points against Serena and 35 against Wheaton Academy in what Aurora Christian coach Dan Stone called one of the biggest wins for the program.
Mark Adams, Aurora Central
Adams torched St. Edward for 34 points and five 3-pointers, then capped his night with an alley-oop dunk in a 75-61 win. The senior followed with 18 points the next night in Aurora Central's 61-42 victory over Montini that improved the Chargers to 8-0.
DuPage County
Toni Kokenis, Hinsdale Central
The 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard guided the Red Devils to a pair of West Suburban Silver victories that kept them undefeated. Kokenis totaled 15 points, 5 steals and 3 assists in a 40-25 triumph over Oak Park, then poured in 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field in a 52-24 win against Lyons Twp.
Roger Coffin, York
A 6-foot-8 senior forward, Coffin's career night led the Dukes' 56-55 West Suburban Silver win over Oak Park. He made five 3-point baskets to give York a 33-24 halftime lead, and hit 7 of 10 3-pointers overall for 26 points. Coffin added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, plus the winning free throw with 5.3 seconds left.