Holiday basketball tournaments provide irregular dining hours, force some unfortunate souls to wake up at 6 a.m. on Dec. 26 for a 9 a.m. game 30 miles from their home and clear the picture when it comes to figuring out which team is No. 1.
But heading into the second half of the Class A girls season, that picture remains as fuzzy as ever.
Of course, there’s Hampshire, third in last season’s state tournament and ranked No. 4 in the latest AP poll. Despite a .500 mark, defending state champion Hope is not to be dismissed lightly. Chicago Christian won the Lisle tournament over a field that included hopefuls Montini, Timothy Christian, Bishop McNamara and the host team.
So if anyone is determined to ask the question which is the best Class A girls team in the Chicago area, there may not be one correct answer. But here are five suggestions–in alphabetical order:
Chicago Christian (11-3)
Timothy Christian coach Jill Groenewold said the Knights “were like a sleeping giant that just stepped it up” at Lisle.
Players like Ryann Hendricks and Julie Beenes have stepped up for the Private School League power from Palos Heights that finished 18-10 last season. Hendricks, who finished sixth in the long jump and 11th in the triple jump at the state track meet last spring, had 14 points in the Knights’ title-game victory over Montini at Lisle. Beenes finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in that game.
“Coming out of there with a trophy, we’re feeling pretty good,” coach Brad Engbers said. “It’s important we build on this for the rest of the season.”
Or the Knights can build on the fact that they won the Class A state title in 1981 behind such players as Debbie Noort, whose brother Don played for Indiana in the early 1970s.
Hampshire (12-2)
The Whip-Purs were 32-2 last season and said farewell to longtime coach Milt Awe with a third-place finish. There hasn’t been much of a dropoff under Sue Ellett, not with Jackie Heine, Wisconsin-Parkside recruit Nicole Watzlawick, Amanda Walker and Jessica Goebbert back.
As Ellett said this season, “We’re not shutting down basketball operations here in Hampshire.”
The only shutdown in recent Hampshire history came in a 2002 state quarterfinals against Nashville. The Whip-Purs were blanked in the first quarter of a 28-22 loss. Heine, who was a member of that team, said last season’s run to the semifinals was motivated by that disappointment.
This past week, Hampshire scored the most points it had since Jan. 21, 2000, in an 84-25 victory over Harvard. Watzlawick had 24 points in that game.
Hampshire’s lone losses have been to Joliet Catholic and Rockford Boylan, both Class AA schools.
Hope (8-7)
What’s an 8-7 team doing on this list? But, then again, what’s an 8-7 team doing beating preseason No. 1 Young and hanging with Marshall–at Marshall–before falling by eight?
As one coach said, this is the team that everyone in Class A fears. Freshman guard Latear Eason, coach Jenelle Spearmon says, “can do it all.” She had 26 points in the victory over Young. And while Hope lost six seniors–including All-Stater Shuntae Roberison and leading rebounder Sarah McCoy–from last year’s state champs, sophomores like Brandy Weeks, Laxavia Toney and Precious Gaddis have put the Eagles in contention again.
This team, like last season’s, won’t intimidate anyone with its height: Spearmon calls 5-9 Courtney Haskins “our big kid.” And, like Class AA upstart Marist, it’s just a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. Still, Spearmon sees, well, hope.
“We’re doing better than I thought,” she said. “These kids are really goal-oriented.”
Montini (14-4)
Sophomore guard Lindsey Bava had a solid tournament at Lisle and is averaging 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.3 steals.
That parallels new coach Jason Nichols’ season. “I think our kids bought into what we’re teaching,” he said. “When kids believe in you, you’re going to get results.”
Trinity got results last season in reaching the Class AA quarterfinals under Nichols, who was dismissed at the end of the season. The Broncos may get their shot this year with Bava, senior point guard Kelly Kero and Amanda Treckler. Montini lost by five to Downstate power Teutopolis and at the buzzer to Stevenson. Against Chicago Christian, Nichols said, “we just laid an egg.”
Timothy Christian (14-3)
The Trojans have reached the Elite Eight four of the last nine years, and only a 39-36 supersectional loss to eventual champion Hope prevented a fifth trip last season. Groenewold lost seven seniors from that team but is in good shape now thanks to the transfer of Jana Lucas from Buffalo Grove.
“She can just do a lot of things that most posts can’t,” Groenewold said of the 6-foot junior. “She’s very mobile.”
Lucas is averaging 14 points and eight rebounds to help ease the loss of Emily Carwell (Wheaton College) and Barbie Heerdt (Trinity Christian). Point guard Wendy Zigterman, the team’s best defender, is averaging 11 points, and two sophomores–5-11 Ashley Biesboer and 6-foot Katrina Denny–have helped.
This is all not to say that there aren’t other teams–notably Lisle with Lisa Gartelos–that could cause a stir in Class A. They’re all part of a picture that won’t clear up until late February.
