The D-C question: Who can beat Fenwick?
The Candace Parkers, Lindsay Schraders and Erin Lawlesses may be gone, and there may not be that nationally ranked marquee team, but there's no doubt the 26th Annual Charger Classic girls basketball tournament at Dundee-Crown is still one of, if not the, best girls Christmas tournament in the state.
"The Dundee-Crown tournament is the crown jewel of all the Christmas tournaments in Illinois," said longtime Fenwick coach Dave Power, whose 8-2 Friars are seeking their fifth straight D-C title and eighth overall. "It might be different in general compared to some of those years when we had the marquee players. We may not have that this year but I think the level of competition is where I don't think anybody can come out and say they're absolutely going to win. There's a lot of teams who have a chance to pull off an upset."
The biggest question that looms when the tournament, sponsored in part by the Daily Herald, begins on Dec. 26, will be this: Who can beat Fenwick? Despite the fact they've lost twice (to Daily Herald No. 1 Wheeling and to Springfield High last weekend), the Friars are still clearly the class of the D-C field. Led by junior Trish Liston, one of the top juniors in the country, and junior Katelyn Payne, who both average 20 points per game, Fenwick is again one of the top teams in the state and the odds-on favorite for an unprecedented fifth straight D-C title.
"We're mixing a little half-court with our up and down (game) this year," said Power, the second winningest girls coach in state history. "When we're shooting well we're a tough team to beat. When we're not shooting well a lot of teams can beat us."
Power says his team is eager to go for title No. 5 in a row at D-C.
"We've got some seniors who would love to have four straight Dundee-Crown championships," he said.
The tournament kicks off at 10 a.m. on Dec. 26 when Prospect (10-1), takes on Evanston (3-7). Mother McAuley (7-3) faces Hononegah (2-6) and Maine West (7-3) takes on Buffalo Grove (3-6) prior to Fenwick meeting Resurrection at 2:30 p.m. to close out the top half of the bracket.
Second-year coach Martha Kelly's Prospect club, whose only loss is to highly regarded Lake Zurich, is a balanced team led by senior guards Alyssa Glennon and Kristina Winans.
Legendary coach Derril Kipp brings another good Maine West team to D-C. The Warriors have won the D-C title five times under Kipp, the last in 1997. They will face a rebuilding Buffalo Grove team led by rookie coach Pat Dudle, who replaced the retired legend Tom Dineen.
Host Dundee-Crown, which has struggled to a 2-10 start under first-year coach Michelle Russell, has the undaunting task of opening the bottom half of the bracket against 11-1 New Trier. With coach Teri Rodgers back from a year's leave, the Trevians could be the best bet to knock off Fenwick, who they wouldn't see until the Dec. 30 championship game. New Trier, whose only loss is to Loyola, is led by senior Molly Quirke and sophomore Abbey Schmitt.
The 5:30 p.m. opening-round game pits Bartlett (5-4) against Fremd (8-2) in what could be the most evenly matched of the eight first-round games.
Even though Bartlett comes in 5-4, the Hawks' four losses - to Naperville Central, Trinity, Waubonsie Valley and Lake Park - are by a combined 18 points. Bartlett will be without 5-foot-11 freshman Haley Videckis (stress fracture in her foot) for the D-C tournament. The Hawks are led by 6-1 sophomore center Jacki Gulczynski and 5-9 freshman Ashley Santos.
"We're progressing," said Hawks coach Denise Sarna, one of five coaches in the D-C tournament who has coached in a state championship game. "We've played a lot of close games and we've played good teams. We've had a challenging schedule and we're making good progress but we could also use a big win right now. We're pretty young and we still make some mistakes but hopefully we can start to overcome them."
Sarna says the D-C tournament is just what her team needs to prepare for the remainder of the season.
"This tournament is another test of playing different styles and different teams," she said. "When you come out of Dundee-Crown, you pretty much know where you're at as a team. We want to make good progress at this tournament as we head into the heart of our schedule. You have to earn your wins at Dundee-Crown and we want to make a statement and show people we can play."
Fremd is enjoying success this season under third-year coach Dave Yates, a St. Edward graduate. The Vikings get consistent scoring from Gianna Abruzzo and Taylor Glassman.
St. Charles North (8-2) will take on Regina Dominican and Johnsburg (7-4) will meet Naperville Central (5-5) to round out the opening day of play. St. Charles North is led by seniors Kelsey Smith (Michigan State), Anna Conrad and Alex Messacar.
Johnsburg is coming off an 81-18 loss to Marian Catholic earlier this week in a Sweet Sixteen tournament game.
At Wheaton North: The Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Classic has another strong field with 10-0 Hinsdale Central the top seed and the favorite to defend its title. The Red Devils have remained undefeated despite going through a coaching change when Steve Gross quit two weeks into his 15th season, reportedly over a dispute with an administrator. Morgan Kasparek, the program's all-time leading scorer who later played at Iowa, is now in charge.
Elgin (3-6) and Jacobs (9-2) are also in the field at Wheaton North. The Maroons open at 6 p.m. Monday against Lyons Township while Jacobs, which plays Saturday in the final round of the Harlem tournament, takes on St. Charles East (6-2) at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Unbeaten Waubonsie Valley is the No. 2 seed, Glenbrook North No. 3 and Hersey (6-3) is the No. 4 seed.
The Wheaton North tournament starts Monday and Tuesday then finishes Dec. 26 and 27.
At Lisle: St. Edward (9-3) is hoping to do some damage at the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic, which runs Dec. 26-27 and 29-30. The Green Wave open at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 26 against Mt. Assisi and then would face either Chicago Latin or Suburban Catholic Conference rival Immaculate Conception in the second round. St. Edward, led by Bradley recruit Katie Yohn, downed IC 62-54 on Dec. 9.
Also in the Green Wave's bracket are Illiana Christian, Lisle, Newark and Timothy Christian. Unbeaten Wheaton Academy looms in the other half of the bracket.
Northern Illinois Holiday Classic: This tournament, hosted by Marengo, Woodstock, McHenry and Richmond-Burton, was to have started Friday night but with the early morning snowstorm canceling school, all games were called off. Information on rescheduling was unavailable Friday. Burlington Central (4-6) and Crystal Lake South (9-2) are in the field at this 16-team tournament.
At Harlem: After Friday's games were called off at the Harlem tournament, seeding was done based on the two games played and the result is a championship semifinal at 10:30 a.m. Saturday between Hampshire (10-1) and District 300 sister school Jacobs (9-2). The Whip-Purs and Golden Eagles are each 2-0 in the tournament and this morning's winner will play 10-1 Rockford Boylan for the tournament championship at 1:45 p.m. Saturday. The Hampshire-Jacobs loser goes home as there is no third-place game.
At Oswego East: Another tournament where all the games were canceled Friday, a revamped schedule Saturday will have Larkin (1-8) taking on Oswego East at noon Saturday. The Royals will then face either West Chicago or East Aurora, at 5 p.m. or 8 p.m., depending on if they win or lose. South Elgin (6-5), which opened the tournament with a win over Plainfield East, will play Oak Park-River Forest in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. Saturday. The tournament continues Monday and Tuesday. In an odd scheduling twist, South Elgin will come home from Oswego Saturday and take on unbeaten Waubonsie Valley at 6 p.m. in an Upstate Eight Conference game.
At Mundelein: Huntley (5-4), Cary-Grove (8-2) and Streamwood (3-7) are the area entrants in the 16-team Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic that gets under way Saturday. Huntley takes on Chicago Payton at 10:30 a.m. and Cary-Grove meets Streamwood at noon. Pool play continues Monday and Tuesday with the crossover and final round games Dec. 26-27.
Charger Classic past champions
1983 - York
1984 - York
1985 - Lockport
1986 -New Trier
1987 - Maine West
1988 - Maine West
1989 - Maine West
1990 - Luther North
1991 - Hoffman Estates
1992 - Maine West
1993 - Stevenson
1994 - Stevenson
1995 - Stevenson
1996 - Resurrection
1997 - Maine West
1998 - Fremd
1999 - Fenwick
2000 - Fenwick
2001 - Fenwick
2002 - Naperville Central
2003 - Naperville Central
2004 - Fenwick
2005 - Fenwick
2006 - Fenwick
2007 -Fenwick