Local fare: Glenbard South's Bair taking game to higher level at Drake
When the Drake women's basketball team took the floor at Redbird Arena to play Illinois State in late January, Maggie Bair had a flashback.
"That court just kind of grinds my gears a little bit," she said.
In 2019, Bair led Glenbard South High School to the Class 3A state championship game, which was played at ISU. The Raiders lost to Morton, claiming the second-place trophy.
In 2018, Bair and Glenbard South were also in Normal and they came up short against top-ranked Peoria Richwoods in the 3A semifinals.
Failing to win a state title still stings, but Bair has had some time to reflect on the positives of the Raiders getting to Redbird Arena for the first time in school history and returning the following year.
"It was a great time," the Glen Ellyn native said in a phone interview. "It was fun to be able to do what we did, to do that for our community. Those are great memories to look back on. I would love to re-create that with my teammates here."
Now a junior at Drake, the 6-foot-3 forward is one of the top players in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Heading into Sunday's game at Southern Illinois, Bair ranked 10th in the league in scoring (12.6 points per game), seventh in rebounding (6.0), second in field goal percentage (.536) and eighth in blocked shots (1.2 per game).
Coming out of a winning program at Glenbard South, Bair is much more focused on Drake's status in the Valley than her own statistics.
"I really couldn't care less what I'm doing or how much I'm scoring or anything like that," said Bair, the Daily Herald DuPage County Female Athlete of the Year for 2018-19.
"I just really want us to win so if that means I'm sitting on the bench the whole game, that would be fine because I want us to win."
The Bulldogs are obviously much better when Bair is on the floor, and they are sitting at 12-11 (4-8 in the MVC) and trying to finish the season on a high note.
"I wish the team was doing a lot better," Bair said. "We haven't won that many games in the conference, so that kind of stinks. We're still trying to find our footing. We're pretty young and inexperienced so I think it's kind of been a learning year, a lot of growth from a lot of players.
"But every chance we get to play a game, it's a great day and I'm thankful to be a part of the team."
Trojan horse:
After two productive seasons at Rice, Drew Peterson transferred to Southern California and he's been a major contributor for the powerhouse Trojans.
Last year at USC, the former Libertyville High School star was fourth in scoring (9.8 points per game), third in rebounding (5.0) and tied for second in assists (2.7 per game).
The Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight last season and are heading back to the NCAA Tournament again this year. Heading into Saturday night's late game against rival UCLA, the Trojans were 20-4 and ranked No. 21 in the country.
Peterson leads Southern Cal with 3.2 assists per game, is fourth in scoring (10.9) and third in rebounding (6.1).
After most games the senior guard talks with Brian Zyrkowski, his prep coach at Libertyville.
"A big part of his team's success has been Drew's play," Zyrkowski said. "He's stepped it up this year. He's proven he can play at that level and not only play at that level, but kind of carry his team."
A 6-foot-9 guard, Peterson is a difficult matchup for opposing defenders. Despite his front-line size, the 195-pounder is a wizard distributing the basketball, he can shoot 3-pointers and he can also score inside.
"He's always been a high IQ player," Zyrkowski said. "His ability to see the open guys, how he plays, he's so unselfish. At Rice, what he did there, and then going in the transfer portal and going to USC, he continues to get better.
"He's worked a lot in offseason on his strength, he can score inside and outside and he's very difficult to guard because if you do pay attention to him he'll find the open guy."
Feels like home:
The Colgate women's basketball team is loaded with former area high school standouts.
Injuries have taken a toll, forward Lindsay Blackmore from Geneva has missed the entire season with a knee issue and forward Holly Lueken from Downers Grove South High School has only been healthy enough to play four games.
Morgan Frank, a guard from Mundelein, has shaken off some injuries and the sophomore had 21 combined rebounds in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Siena.
"Her tenacity on the boards is something this team needs more of and something she does really well, both offensively and defensively," Raiders coach Ganiyat Adeduntan said. "Even though she has dealt with injuries this season, she consistently brings effort and toughness."
Junior forward Geddy Rerko from Batavia also plays for Colgate, which competes in the Patriot League and is located in Hamilton, N.Y.