There are those–perhaps Scrooge and the Grinch–who would make this modest proposal: Why bother with the rest of this girls high school basketball season? Open a gym, get Marshall and Loyola together and let them have at it.
This would save time, money and brain cells for other pursuits like (Seinfeld fan warning) what are Chicagoans going to do with their 8-8:30 p.m. time slots on Thursday nights?
Loyola and Marshall have been through this before, the defending Class AA champion Ramblers beating the Commandos 70-61 in last season’s state semifinals.
In recent days, platefuls of holiday tournaments have shown that little has changed. Loyola is 16-0 after winning the Chicagoland Holiday Challenge. Marshall is 13-0 after beating state runner-up Taylorville 82-69 in the title game of the Public League’s Christmas tournament.
A look at each team’s schedule shows that both have a chance to go unbeaten through the regular season.
Loyola’s toughest game will come Jan. 16 in the Chicago Prep Classic at Willowbrook against Indiana state runner-up Lake Central, which features All-Stater Kelly Komura.
No one in the Public League has the talent of the 1996-97 Young team (Natasha Pointer, Clarissa Flores) to challenge Dorothy Gaters’ Marshall team. Of course, road games against defending Class A champ Carlyle–at Logan College near Carbondale Jan. 10–and East St. Louis Senior and East St. Louis Lincoln are a concern.
Those are just a couple of the reasons to ignore the Scrooges of the world. These are some others:
Who needs to be 6-2? Loyola’s Jeanette Paukert certainly isn’t and this 5-foot-9-inch senior is proving why girls don’t have to be over 6 feet to dominate a high school basketball game. The area’s No. 1 team–which has a dominant inside game thanks to 6-2 juniors Olga Gvozdenovic and Elizabeth Fletcher–wouldn’t be now if Paukert hadn’t come up with seven steals in a 44-39 victory over Lake Zurich and hadn’t made some huge shots against Maine South in the Ramblers’ 42-40 squeaker. With college coaches swarming all over the area the last 10 days, Paukert boosted her stock.
Heck, who needs to be 5-9? Second-ranked Marshall’s Kimya Murray doesn’t. This 5-5 junior made the difference against previously unbeaten Taylorville by scoring 24 points, 15 coming on three-pointers. Even with senior Sabrina Minter and second-team All-Stater Kourtney Walton on this team, Gaters has given Murray the green light to shoot. In fact, Murray is under virtual orders to put it up “as soon as I get the ball.” Earlier in the season, her 18 helped the Commandos whip Mother McAuley by 20.
Isn’t Conant 16-0? Everyone is wondering exactly how good the Cougars are. They’ll find out Jan. 13 when Jarrett Cunningham’s team visits Schaumburg. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do to reach the level of a Loyola or Fenwick,” said the seasoned coach, whose team won the holiday tournament at Machesney Park Harlem by beating the host team. Leading the Cougars are 5-10 senior Sheryl Jedd, 6-1 senior Jill Bergmann and 6-foot junior Jennifer Pettyjohn, who has bounced back from anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Jedd and Bergmann made the all-tourney team at Harlem, but Cunningham said Pettyjohn “was probably the most valuable player in the tournament.” All scored in double figures. In its opening game, Conant trailed Hersey by 19 before winning at the buzzer.
Remember the Maines? Yes, Maines. Not Maine. Because the Chicago area version of Duke-North Carolina, Kentucky-Louisville and Purdue-Indiana is fierce this season–particularly after Maine South knocked off Maine West 61-49 on Dec. 12. While West’s Dawn Vana and South’s Denise Pavichevich may be the main names, two other players–South’s Kori Bieszczad and West’s Amy Stoltz–are key in this rivalry.
Who makes Lyons’ schedule? In winning the Wheaton North tournament, the No. 9 Lions (13-2) had to go through Waubonsie Valley, No. 10 Glenbrook South and No. 14 West Aurora. This month LT is in the inaugural “Great Eight” tournament and will have to face No. 17 Buffalo Grove, No. 12 Mother McAuley, No. 8 Maine West and No. 3 Fenwick. And Lyons still has to play Glenbard West’s Kristi Faulkner twice. While the addition of Fenwick transfer Amanda Papuga has been highly publicized, this team is solid throughout. Junior Katie Meyers is scoring 16 points a game, with Jamie Barnish and Katie Maley also in double figures. “Depending on who we’re playing, I’ve got six people who can start. It’s a coach’s dream,” Dawn Schabacker said.
What is there to do in January? The eighth Chicagoland Girls Prep Classic, promoter Jim O’Boye’s creation, is one of the top girls showcases in the nation. There are 15 games on Jan. 16, 17 and 19. Among the local teams featured are Fenwick, Glenbrook South, Lake Zurich, Loyola, Maine West, Sandburg and Waubonsie Valley. Among those making longer treks to Willowbrook High School are national powerhouse Huntsville (Ala.) Butler, Lake Central (Ind.)., East Lake North (Ohio) and Taylorville. The previously mentioned Great Eight has a series of games running from Jan. 19-31.
Is Maggie Fontana a freshman? Yes, the 5-9 forward from Fremd is–and played unfreshmanlike in the Dundee-Crown tournament. She scored 72 points in four games, finishing with 25 in her team’s victory over Stevenson for fifth place. Other freshmen who had a happy holiday included Resurrection’s 6-4 Sarah Kwazinski, who totaled 36 rebounds, 13 blocked shots and 45 points in four games at Dundee-Crown, and Marshall’s Cappie Pondexter, who scored 12 against Taylorville after getting 24 against Kewanee-Wethersfield in an earlier game. Fontana, Kwazinski, Fenwick’s Claudette Towers and Stevenson’s Jenni Dant and Ashley Kearney were freshmen making the all-tournament team at Dundee-Crown.
Those should be enough reasons to stick around through the end of the season in March.
