Redhawks-Wildcats test looming large in DVC

Just two weeks ago Naperville Central was still unbeaten, looking like a possible runaway favorite in the DuPage Valley Conference.

My, how things have changed in the new year.

After going down in conference for the first time to Wheaton North on Saturday, the Redhawks (14-3, 3-1) find themselves looking up at West Chicago (12-4, 4-0). Naperville Central hosts West Chicago on Thursday for the DVC lead near the halfway point.

"We wanted to go through the first half of conference without a loss," Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said, "and you always want to win your games at home. That didn't happen. But we still have our destiny in our hands. That makes Thursday's game huge."

A four-horse race is shaping up in the DVC, with West Chicago currently up a game on defending co-champions Naperville Central and Wheaton North (7-7, 3-1), two up on Wheaton Warrenville South (11-5, 2-2).

Wildcats coach Kim Wallner cautions that you can't overlook anybody in conference.

"I do think it's going to end up where on any given night you better come to play," Wallner said. "Those four teams are looking good now, but you have to be careful. All it takes is one off night."

West Chicago has won five straight after its overtime win at WW South on Saturday. Claire Monroe hit the game-winning 3-pointer in that game. Jessica Baids has also had some big games, but Wallner said you can't overlook the contributions of other seniors.

"Katie Staiton and Izzy Bruce don't get the ink," Wallner said, "but they're doing a lot of good things consistently. Madeline Warkins has stepped in and she does a lot of the little things. She plays defense really well. Our senior group has just been real, real consistent.

"I like where we are at, but we still have a long way to go."

Naperville Central will in all likelihood be without 6-foot senior forward Catherine Tanck the rest of the season, diagnosed with a torn ACL. The Redhawks, which still feature 6-2 sophomore Emma Donahue inside, have lost twice without Tanck.

"With Catherine we had an extreme size advantage that without her has been negated," Nussbaum said. "Now we're a lot more even with teams. We've been forced to open a new chapter, but we're not going to make any excuses."

Warriors' tough road ahead: Boasting a 14-2 record and leading the Upstate Eight Conference, Waubonsie Valley has to feel good about its first season under coach Kim Connell.

The road gets tougher from here on out, starting tonight when Waubonsie hosts Oswego (14-1). The Panthers, considered one of the top 20 teams in the Chicago area, feature Winthrop-bound guard Samiya Wright and Brittany Collier. Their only loss is to Geneva back in November.

"They have three quick guards and their big girl is pretty agile," Connell said. "It's the first time we'll have seen that combination, offensively and defensively."

Ahead in conference are dates with both St. Charles schools, as well as defending UEC champ Lake Park.

"I told the girls we have to play much better basketball in January and February than we did the first two months of the season," Connell said. "The biggest thing is getting better every game, peaking at the right and being good practice players."

Montini's multi-dimensional junior: On a team with four players already committed to Division I schools, it's easy to get overlooked.

Whitney Adams should not.

The 6-foot-2 Montini junior has done a little bit of everything for the No. 1 Broncos. Third on the team in scoring (8.7 points per game), second in rebounds (7.9) and second in assists (3.1), Adams has also made 25 3-pointers while starting 16 of Montini's 19 games.

Recently Adams has been on the giving end of several passes in to Michala Johnson from the high post. Last week she had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 8 against Hinsdale Central and 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over Immaculate Conception.

"The nice thing about her is she's a dual threat," Montini coach Jason Nichols said. "She can play inside and she can play outside. It's hard to tag defending her. If you double down on Michala, she'll shoot you out of it."

Nichols admitted he's probably been tougher on Adams than any other current player. Uncommitted, Adams has received offers from Ball State, Illinois State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Marquette, who has already signed Montini senior Courtney Thomas, has also shown interest.

"She's pretty good," Nichols said, "but I think she can be even better. That's a kid I will constantly be on until the day she graduates."

Winterim no break for Wheaton Academy: In the midst of its two-week Winterim break, Wheaton Academy finds itself in the most demanding stretch of the season.

After losing to Immaculate Conception in the final of the Lisle Cage Classic on Dec. 30, the Warriors hit the road last week. Wheaton Academy lost to Christian Academy of Knoxville (Tenn.) 57-46 and then lost 61-37 on Saturday at defending Indiana Class 2A state champion Heritage Christian.

It's a rare three-game losing streak against tough competition for a Wheaton Academy team that lost just one regular-season game last year, and had dropped just one game prior to the holidays.

"The big thing for us," Wheaton Academy coach Beth Mitchell said, "is we need to get re-focused and get back on track. It's OK. I don't like to lose, but I like to play against competition like that. Those games and losses will hopefully help us down the stretch."

Mitchell stressed the need to tighten up team defense and rebounding heading into tonight's game at Chicago Christian.

"We want to turn our defense up a couple notches," Mitchell said. "We have to not let people beat us to spots, and we need to deny the ball better. And we have to do a better job boxing people out. It seems like we get beat on the boards night in and night out. We have to finish every possession defensively."

Basketball is just the tip of the iceberg of the Warriors' Winterim activities. On Monday 16 Warriors packed food for two hours at the Feed My Starving Children facility. On Friday they will play bingo with residents at the DuPage Convalescent Center.

"It's kind of neat to give back to the community like that," Mitchell said.