Basketball: Week 6 MVPs

West Aurora senior center Josh McAuley and Metea Valley senior Lori Obendorf have earned Daily Herald MVP honors for their recent basketball performances.

McAuley earned first-team honors at Pontiac, where he helped the Blackhawks reach the championship game. Obendorf produced 28 points and 13 rebounds in helping the Mustangs to a tournament championship in the title game against host Oswego East.

BOYS MVP

Josh McAuley, West Aurora: The 6-foot-7 senior center earned First-Team All-Tournament at Pontiac, helping West reach the title game for the first time since 2003. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocks, then began the new year with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 68-56 DuPage Valley win at Naperville North.

BOYS RUNNERS-UP

A.J. Fish, Grayslake North: The Virgina-bound lacrosse player/quarterback star is pretty good at this sport, too. His game-high 25 points lifted the Knights to a 76-57 win over Johnsburg. He was coming off an 18-point performance against Woodstock North. During the Grant Holiday Tournament, the 6-foot-3 senior forward averaged 20.4 points in five games, as the Knigths went 4-1.

Pat Kenny, Neuqua Valley: The 6-foot-4 senior center was first-team all-tournament at East Aurora in a 4-0 sweep. He averaged 15.8 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 49 percent from the floor and 75 percent at the line. Kenny had a double-double against Aurora Central and scored 19 points in the title win over Pleasure Ridge (Ky.).

Kendale McCullum, Larkin: This 6-foot-1 junior was named all-tournament after he helped Larkin to 4 victories and the 38th Annual Elgin Holiday Tournament title. His all-around contributions included 13 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals in a quarterfinal victory over Glenbard North and 11 points and 8 rebounds in a semifinal win over Batavia. He capped the Royals’ ninth straight victory by scoring 11 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and making 4 steals in a 60-51 title-game victory over defending tournament champion Elgin.

Cole Reyes, Schaumburg: The Saxons finished 2-2 at Hinsdale South’s tournament but may have started to hit their stride there. Reyes provided a career-best 31 points in a double-OT loss to Brother Rice, then had 13 in an OT loss to Providence before Schaumburg evened up its tourney record with a 6-point win over Minooka.

GIRLS MVP

Lori Obendorf, Metea Valley: Metea captured the championship at Oswego East — the program’s first tournament title. No bigger reason was this 6-foot-2 senior. Obendorf scored a personal-high 28 points with 13 rebounds, playing all 32 minutes in championship game against Oswego East. She also had 16 points and 8 rebounds in the semifinal win over Downers Grove South.

GIRLS RUNNERS-UP

Jen Dumoulin, Hampshire: In leading the Whip-Purs to the consolation championship of the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic, this 5-foot-9 guard/forward averaged 15 points per game. She scored 13 with 12 rebounds in a loss to Immaculate Conception then came back with 13 points and 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a win over Reed-Custer, 16 points in a victory over Timothy Christian and 17 points and 3 assists in the 55-34 win over Westmont in the consolation title game. Dumoulin then scored 8 points and had 11 rebounds in a 41-39 win over Sycamore last weekend, a game in which her 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in the game won it for the Whips.

Paige Gallimore, Antioch: Don’t let the 5-foot-6 frame fool you. The junior guard rebounds the basketball nearly as well as she shoots it. Her 15 points and 11 rebounds in the Sequoits’ 61-49 win over Lake Zurich marked her fourth double-double. Her all-tournament effort at Lisle included a 31-point/11-rebound performance in a 51-42 victory over Chicago Latin.

Alexa Resch, Barrington: Resch helped lead the Fillies to a fifth-place finish (3-1) in the prestigious Dundee-Crown Charger Classic. The senior forward totaled 53 points and 35 rebounds, including 15 points and 14 rebounds against Resurrection in a 62-60 overtime win. In that game, Resch hit the game-tying layup at the buzzer of regulation and the game-winning layup as time expired in OT.

Lisa Rodriguez, Aurora Central Catholic: Aurora Central Catholic entered the Oswego East Holiday Tournament as the smallest of the 16 schools, and the Chargers wound up going 3-1 and finishing fifth. Rodriguez led the way with 45 points before leaving the Chargers’ final game halfway through with a concussion. She earned all-tournament honors with 14 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 blocked shots.