DuPage girls basketball notes: Upstate Eight lead on the line Friday
It will be an old-fashioned district battle for sole possession of first place in the Upstate Eight Conference when Glenbard South faces Glenbard East Friday in Glen Ellyn in a battle of teams that started the week 8-0 in conference play.
Glenbard East update: East senior point guard Catey Carney scored her 1,000th career point in early December. She also earned all-tournament honors at both the Thanksgiving and Christmas tournaments the Rams played in and earned a team MVP honor at the recent Grow the Game event. East coach Nicole Miller, whose team is 13-6 overall, noted Carney is on pace to break the school’s all-time scoring record.
Senior forward Gabby Walton and senior guard Ciara Johnson also have been earning high marks for their play. Wilson averages 9.7 points and 8 rebounds.
“Gabby is the dominant force inside,” Miller said. “She also leads our team in charges. Ciara is our best defensive player. She has been playing really well the last six games both offensively and defensively.”
Glenbard South update: The Raiders, who started the week 11-6 overall, went 2-2 at Wheaton North over the holidays where Brooklynn Moore averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Allie Mizwicki averaged 12 points. Moore (10.2 points, 7.3 rebounds on the season), Mizwicki (9.2 points), Rheayanna Ferguson (6 points) and Jamie Mizwicki (6 points) also have been helping, as have Callie Hardtke (5 points) and Sofia Alcala (5 points).
“We have a team that is balanced when it comes to scoring,” South coach Eric Daca said. “Having multiple players capable of leading a game in scoring and having a bench that contributes with the opportunities they are given, puts us in a situation to be competitive in any game we play.”
Glenbard West update: Coming off a 3-1 showing at St. Viator over the holidays (wins over St. Ignatius, St. Laurence and Mundelein), Glenbard West beat Riverside-Brookfield by 29 points, downed New Trier by 20 points in the Grow the Game event and then dropped a West Suburban Conference Silver Division contest to Downers Grove North. West was 17-3 overall and 4-2 in WSC Silver play to start the week.
“Downers Grove North was a tough back-to-back game (New Trier the previous day),” West coach Kristi Faulkner pointed out. “It was a close battle in the third and fourth until the end.”
Julia Benjamin averages 15.6 points, while Makenna Yeager is at 9.5 points per game. Ellie Noble leads the team in rebounding at 7 per game, while Lauren Escalante is tops in assists (5 per game) and steals (4 per game). Benjamin, who along with Escalante were all-tournament earlier this season at the District 87 event with Yeager earning MVP honors there, was the West player of the game at Grow the Game against New Trier.
“Our girls play hard and with a tremendous amount of energy,” Faulkner noted. “Each player fills a valuable role and we love having balanced scoring on this team. On any given night, we could have a number of different players in double digits. Julia and Makenna have done a great job increasing their offensive output this season. Lauren has taken on a big leadership role along with our other captains (Benjamin and Carina Cudzillo). Hannah Roberts is a tough defender, often assigned the other team’s best player. Ellie (a freshman) and Mya Austin (a sophomore) have done a great job on the boards. We are excited to have Carina back from an injury in the next week or so and we have brought up Lily Hubbuch (a freshman) from our JV team, who has provided a spark off the bench along with senior guard Sydney Nimsakont. Our bench has been amazing. They bring so much energy and support to our players on the floor. It’s been really fun to see this group come together.”
Glenbard North update: The Panthers recorded a pair of recent wins at the Wheaton North Falcon Classic.
“We were able to get two wins at the Christmas tournament, which was a great confidence boost for our girls and the hard work they have been putting in,” North coach Pam Decheva said.
The Panthers (3-15, 0-7 DuKane) continue to see strong play from the likes of Mikaela Quinn and Alexis Frcek. “Mikaela and Alexis are standing out,” Decheva said.
Metea Valley update: Metea scored a recent 45-36 win over Larkin and was 2-11 overall heading into this week. Lucy Burk (10 points, 2.3 rebounds), Arainna Hammons (8 points, 3.2 rebounds) and Reese Valha (2.8 assists, 2.8 steals) lead the way.
“We are starting to play better and look to pick up some wins down the stretch,” Metea coach Keith McIntosh said.
Naperville North update: The Huskies finished up a recent seven-game span where they went 4-3 with wins over Thornton, Neuqua Valley, Metea Valley and Highland Park. North was 8-10 overall and 1-3 in DuPage Valley action to start the week.
Natalie Frempong was a second-team all-tournament pick at Montini over the holidays. She’s at 12.8 points and 2.6 steals per game.
“Natalie played really consistent basketball the last couple weeks and that led us to some huge victories, such as against Neuqua Valley,” North coach Aly Miller said. “She is giving really solid minutes on both ends of the floor.”
Anna Richards, who had been coming off the bench, started in the Montini tournament and had 25 points against Neuqua, 12 against Montini and 8 against Thornton. “Anna is doing a good job of finding a rhythm offensively,” Miller said.
Sydni Fink (2.6 assists, 4.5 deflections), Ava Podkasik (5.9 rebounds, 3.7 steals) and Kendall Johnson (.821 from foul line) also have been key contributors.
Neuqua Valley update: Coach Mike Williams has the daily double of sorts in Kylee Norkus and Caitlin Washington. Both have scored more than 1,000 points in their careers and both recently earned game MVPs at the Montini Christmas tournament.
“Kylee, Caitlin and Zoe Narvarro are all tearing it up with different skill sets,” Williams said.
Washington averages 15 points, while Navarro is at 8 points and 3 assists and the well-rounded Norkus is at 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 3.5 deflections for the Wildcats (13-8 overall, 3-1 DuPage Valley). Sophomore Nalia Clifford averages 10 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
St. Francis update: Coach Jeff Gerdeman’s group was sitting at 3-0 and in first place in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference White Division at week’s start (10-8 overall, 2-game winning streak).
Rile Austin leads the way for the Spartans, averaging 15 points and 4 steals/deflections per game, while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 38 percent from 3 (30 made) and 78 percent from the line. Natalie Doyle has 78 rebounds (4 per game) and averages 4 steals/deflections, while Dolly Smith averages 3 assists and Tea Rubino is at 10 points per game and has made 25 threes.
Rubino had 35 points and 7 threes in a recent two-game run, while Lynsey Cleveland had 19 rebounds in her past two games, while Smith had 14 assists in that same span.
Waubonsie Valley update: Coach Brett Love’s squad is flying high at 18-1 overall (4-0 DVC) after winning the Wheaton North Falcon Classic and riding a 13-game winning streak. It was Waubonsie’s second tournament title this season (York Thanksgiving).
Danyella Mporokoso (averaging 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds) was the tournament MVP at Wheaton North, while Lily Newton and Hannah Laub (13.1 points, 1.3 blocks) joined her on the all-tournament team. Mporokoso had 21 points and 12 rebounds in the title win against Schaumburg, while Laub had 19 points and 5 rebounds. Arie Garcia (4.2 assists, 2.7 steals) also has been a key cog for the Warriors, who were ranked No. 10 in the most recent Associated Press Class 4A state poll.
“Danyella has been an unstoppable scoring and facilitating machine,” Love said. “She’s very hard to guard and works hard on both ends grabbing rebounds and getting stops. Hannah has been shooting at a very high clip from beyond the arc. Her range allows her to make shots from anywhere on the floor. She’s creating opportunities for others and defending the paint. Ari is a high-level defender, guarding the best player on every team, staying active on the boards and controlling the tempo of the game. She plays at a high speed, but yet has patience in the pocket.”
West Chicago update: Big news out of West Chicago where coach Mark Fitzgerald’s team started the week 15-5 overall and is trending to finish with the second-best record in school history. The 2000-2001 team won 27 games.
The Wildcats sat at 6-2 and in third place in the Upstate Eight Conference at week’s beginning. West Chicago won the consolation championship at Lisle.
On an individual basis, junior Jasmyn Trigueros, already a 1,000-career-point scorer, is averaging 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 2.6 assists. She was an all-tournament selection at Lisle.
Also of note, senior Sydney Bennema averaged 9 points over a recent 5-game stretch (second on the team during that span), while junior Elina Velasquez is second on the team at 3 steals per game over her last five.
“Both girls have been instrumental in our good holiday tournament results, as well as in recent conference play,” said Fitzgerald, who is closing in on 200 career wins. “I look for them to have an ever-increasing impact on our team’s success.”
Wheaton North update: Wheaton North was on a 3-game winning streak and stood at 11-8 overall and 1-5 in DuKane action to start the week. The Falcons finished fifth at their own tournament with a 3-1 mark (wins over Elk Grove, Glenbard South and Hinsdale Central).
Sara Abdul averages 16.9 points, while Zoe Bohmer is at 6.6 rebounds per game. Abdul was all-tournament at Wheaton North after leading the tournament in scoring (22.8 points) and steals.
“Sarah has scored and shot the ball much better the past month,” Falcons coach Tyler Bantz said. “Zoey always is a physical force inside.”
Bantz also likes the recent play of Brigitte Noyes (out recently with an injury) and freshman Adeline Sutton. “Brigitte is a force defensively inside with her length and Adeline is shooting well and becoming a true point guard,” he said.
Willowbrook update: The Warriors (9-11, 5-2 West Suburban Gold, tied for second) were riding a 3-game winning streak to start the week and had won four of their last six.
Wright State commit Elle Bruschuk is averaging more than 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks per game. She was all-tournament at Wheaton North (where Willowbrook went 2-2).
Coach Dan Bannon also likes how junior point guard Ayanni Gusman, senior Tia Kelly, and the likes of Lorali McIntyre and Kendall Medinger have been playing.
“Ayanni should be one of the top point guards in the area as a senior,” Bannon said. “Tia is our defensive specialist and can lock down almost any ballhandler we put on her. Lorali provides solid rebounding and a defensive presence around the basket and Kendall gives us some streak shooting and scoring from the perimeter.”
Gusman scored 18 points in Willowbrook’s last game at Wheaton North, helping lead a second-half comeback that led to a victory.