Bartlett's resurgence starts with defense
Dave Mello knew when he took over the Bartlett girls basketball program from retired longtime coach Denise Sarna that he had some talent to work with.
The Hawks, though, had to battle through some early-season illness and injuries as well as getting used to a new system and through the Dundee-Crown Christmas tournament had only posted a 9-6 record, which became 9-7 after a Jan. 5 loss to Huntley.
Call it ancient history at this point.
Going into Friday night's home game against East Aurora, the Upstate Eight Valley champion Hawks will be seeking a 10th straight win, a resurgence that earned them the No. 4 seed in the ultra-tough Class 4A Schaumburg sectional.
"I just think they're completely in sync with one another now and it's been fun to watch," said Mello. "I trust them now because they trust themselves."
Mello credits the winning streak to a defense that has allowed just over 36 points per game during the streak and given up 50 or more points just twice in the last nine games.
"We've really been locking down on defense," Mello said. "We were playing good defense before Christmas but we've really locked down lately."
Mello said 5-foot-10 senior Nicole Gerdevich has been one of the keys to the defensive effort.
"Nicole has really done a fabulous job against some top scorers," said Mello, noting that Gerdevich held Conant junior standout Jorie Wachal scoreless in the first half of Bartlett's 56-36 win last weekend.
Offensively, the Hawks have been led by steady seniors Kaitlin Brohan (14.3 ppg.), Shelley Lyjak and Kelly Harris but the emergence of sophomore Kayla Hare, who now has 51 3-pointers for the season, has been an added bonus. Hare, now averaging just under 12 points per game, recently set the school record for 3s in a game with 7 against St. Charles East.
"We knew what we'd get from Kaitlin, Shelley and Kelly, but Kayla Hare has really stepped up," said Mello, who also lauded the continued improvement of senior Mariah Martinez off the bench. "And, she hasn't been standing at the 3-point line. She's making some nice moves to the basket."
Mello said Friday's game may be the first all season where, with everyone illness and injury-free, he'll have his complete 15-player roster for a game, which lends favorably to the Hawks' winning ways continuing.
River showdown: Geneva enters Friday night's battle for the Upstate Eight Conference River Division championship against Batavia having won four straight in the series.
The last time Batavia beat the Vikings in 2013 it took 51 points from Liza Fruendt in an epic performance on Geneva's home court.
So for the Bulldogs to win Friday all they need is 51 points from St. Louis-bound senior Hannah Frazier? On Tuesday she scored 25 points in a win over Larkin to pass Fruendt and become Batavia's all-time leading scorer.
"I would take it if she gets it but I hope that's not the only way we can get them," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen laughed.
The Vikings got their revenge later that year beating Batavia in the sectional championship and have owned the series since including a 59-39 win earlier this season. That victory is the difference between No. 4 Geneva (19-3, 10-0) and No. 5 Batavia (21-5, 9-1) in the River race.
The Bulldogs can pull even in the standings with a win Friday, a 5:30 p.m. start before the boys game follows in another matchup with conference title implications on the line. Batavia and Geneva's boys teams rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Daily Herald Top 20 putting all four teams among the suburb's elite.
"It's going to be real fun," Jensen said. "The girls are real excited. Both the boys and girls should be great matchups. Two real meaningful games for both teams. It's always a fun atmosphere Batavia vs. Geneva but when it's so meaningful for both, it's going to be a real fun time."
Batavia and Geneva both enter Friday playing well, the Bulldogs having won five straight and Geneva seven in a row.
"Overall I'm really happy with the way we share the ball," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. "We've been focusing on our press break for sure. We went in and played really well at Batavia. I would expect them to shoot better."
In that first meeting, Geneva's bench made a big difference. Other than Frazier, no Batavia player scored more than 5 points.
Geneva's bench outscored the Bulldogs' 28-11. Bri Borkowicz provided a spark with 12 points in her first game of the season.
Margaret Whitley led a balanced Geneva attack with 13 points. Grace Loberg added 8 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks and helped hold Frazier to 15.
"Obviously Grace is real difficult to keep off the glass but if we do that it is going to take away probably half her points," Jensen said. "The biggest thing is to keep them off the glass. There are all kinds of talented players they've got. Whitley can make all kinds of shots from anywhere she wants, but her shots along with a lot of other people's shots often come after an offensive rebound. There has been a lot of emphasis on that."
The school's scoring record in hand, Frazier is poised for two more milestones in the near future. She's 3 rebounds away from joining Kelly Pollard with 1,000 rebounds, and she is just 61 points away from 2,000.
But Geneva, with the 6-foot-2 Loberg inside, is one of the more difficult matchups for the Batavia star.
"Grace helps with her size and length," Meadows said of defending Frazier. "Hannah is so strong that we tell Grace she has to play physical which is out of her comfort zone. The thing about Hannah is as good of a basketball player she is she's even a nicer kid. Good sportsmanship goes a long way."
Jensen said there's not a lot Batavia plans to change. Mostly he wants his team to build off the success they have had since the Geneva loss including four well-played games at the Montini Christmas Classic.
"There's been a couple little Xs and Os things we've looked at but there's been a lot since then that we feel we have cleaned up," Jensen said. "As far as how we've pressed different teams and dealing with certain individuals in that press I think we've gotten a lot better at that. I don't think we did that particularly well in that last game."
Postseason seeds: All roads to postseason success in Class 4A for many Fox Valley area schools will have to go through No. 1 ranked Montini, the top seed in the Schaumburg sectional. But if seeds hold, a third Geneva-Batavia game could be on tap in the sectional semifinals as the Vikings and Bulldogs got the 2-3 seeds, released by the IHSA Thursday afternoon. Batavia is a regional host, as is No. 4 seed Bartlett.
St. Charles North got the No. 7 seed, while St. Charles East is No. 12 in the 21-team sectional field. Glenbard West and Elk Grove are the other two regional hosts.
The Schaumburg sectional winner advances to the Hoffman Estates supersectional to meet the New Trier sectional winner. New Trier is the No. 1 seed in its own sectional.
Meanwhile, Huntley is clearly the team to beat in the 21-team DeKalb sectional, a field that is broken into the sub-sectional format. The Red Raiders are the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional B with Hononegah, Harlem and Rockford Auburn the 2-4 seeds. Jacobs is No. 8. Belvidere North and Rockford East are the regional hosts.
In sub-sectional A, South Elgin earned the No. 1 seed with Crystal Lake South, Prairie Ridge and Grant 2-4. Dundee-Crown is No. 5, Cary-Grove No. 7, Larkin No. 8, Streamwood No. 9 and Elgin No. 10. McHenry and Streamwood are the regional hosts.
The DeKalb sectional winner meets the Stevenson sectional champ in the Fremd supersectional. Fremd is the top seed at Stevenson.
West Aurora is the only Fox Valley area team in the Benet sectional field. The Blackhawks are the No. 13 seed. Benet is No. 1.
In Class 3A, Burlington Central's lofty 19-3 record and state ranking did not turn into a No. 1 seed in sub-sectional A of the Rochelle sectional. Instead top honors went to Sycamore (17-4), which upset BC last year for a regional title. Kaneland is the No. 3 seed, St. Francis No. 4, Aurora Central Catholic No. 6 and Rosary No. 7. Burlington Central and IMSA are the regional hosts.
In sub-sectional B, Hampshire earned the No. 3 seed behind Rockford Lutheran and Rockford Boylan. Stillman Valley is No. 4 and the regional hosts are Rock Falls and Belvidere.
The Rochelle sectional winner plays the Galesburg sectional champ in the Bureau Valley supersectional.
The IHSA will release official pairings Friday afternoon.