With the flip of the calendar to 2016, Pioneer Press sports reporter Matt Harness takes a look at the status of area girls basketball teams as they approach the midpoint of the season.
He broke the teams down into three groups — contending for a sectional title, competing for a regional title and regrouping. Teams are listed alphabetically in each category.
Contending
Evanston
The Wildkits (13-3) went 3-1 and finished fifth at Montini’s 16-team tournament, arguably the best one in the state, proving they have what it takes to contend for championships later this season.
Evanston last won a sectional title in 2013 and the school made its lone appearance at the state tournament in 1991. The Wildkits are at the Class 4A New Trier Sectional, along with the host Trevians, Glenbrook South and Loyola.
Glenbrook South
Senior forward Caitlin Morrison, junior guard Carie Weinman and senior forward Sarah McDonagh carried the Titans (14-2) to the championship at Wheaton North’s tournament on Saturday, Dec. 26.
Morrison and Weinman are leading the way on the offensive end, while McDonagh is the team’s lockdown defender, according to Glenbrook South coach Steve Weissenstein.
But Weissenstein said the Titans’ success is the result of a team effort.
“One reason we are playing so well is that we do a great job of handling the ball,” he said. “Everyone on the floor is an excellent ball-handler and passer, and we don’t turn the ball over very much.”
Loyola
The Ramblers (9-4) hit the road for the holidays and returned home with a tournament title.
Loyola finished first at the Red Mountain Holiday Classic in Mesa, Ariz., with its 33-29 win over Orange Lutheran (Calif.) on Thursday, Dec. 31.
Loyola is led by senior forward Liz Satter, an all-tournament selection. Satter is averaging a double-double.
The most impressive part of the Ramblers so far, according to Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker, has been their play on defense.
“We are really getting after it defensively,” said Schoenecker, whose team generally plays man. “We are limiting teams to one shot, which is good for us because we aren’t that tall.”
New Trier
It’s Redbird Arena or bust for the Trevians.
After taking third in Class 4A last season, New Trier has the look of a team that can get back to the state tournament. The Trevians (14-3) captured the championship at Dundee-Crown’s tournament to punctuate a 13-day stretch in which they played eight games.
“It’s been a lot of basketball,” New Trier coach Teri Rodgers said after her team’s 58-42 win over Stevenson on Wednesday, Dec. 30. “I’m proud of our kids and our coaching staff. [The] players really learned over this break, and they didn’t get tired. They kept with it.”
A concern for the Trevians, though, is the health of senior starting point guard Haley Greer, a Colgate recruit who missed the final five games of 2015 with a back injury. Rodgers didn’t put a timetable on her return. But senior Autumn Kalis played well at the point in her absence, earning all-tournament honors at Dundee-Crown.
“We will keep her out until she feels 100 percent,” Rodgers said of Greer.
Competing
Maine East
The Blue Demons (10-5) enter 2016 with designs on winning the Central Suburban North championship for second time in three years. They already are in the hunt at 3-1 in the conference. Their lone loss was a 63-50 defeat to league-leading Maine West, a game the Blue Demons were winning by eight points late in the third quarter. The two teams play again Friday, Jan. 22, in Des Plaines.
“It was a good first half, and we are happy with what we are doing,” Maine East coach Karol Hanusiak said. “Hopefully, we will continue to play hard. But more importantly, we want to be able to sustain leads that we have and finish games. We want to finish what we start.”
Maine South
Despite the disappointing 14th-place finish at Dundee-Crown’s 16-team tournament, the Hawks still control their own outcome in the Central Suburban South. Maine South (8-7, 3-1) already have a win over Glenbrook South and travel to play 4-0 New Trier on Friday, Jan. 8. Maine South, which has four players who started on last season’s team that won a regional title, will host a regional as part of New Trier’s sectional.
Regrouping
Glenbrook North
Now that the Spartans (4-16) have a full roster of healthy players, they should be more competitive in the second half of the season, according to Glenbrook North coach Danielle Fluegge.
Senior forward Miranda Weber became a force on the floor in December, averaging double figures in points and rebounds, Fluegge said.
“We are starting to hit our stride,” Fluegge said. “We want to build on what we have started to see over the past two weeks and continue competing at that level.”
Niles North
Senior guard Olivia Schaps and senior guard/forward Stephanie Donado — both of whom are four-year varsity players — are back from last year’s team that won the Central Suburban North championship; however, the Vikings have relinquished the top spot. Maine West beat Niles North 62-39 on Friday, Dec. 11, in Des Plaines.
Niles West
The Wolves will do well to keep their Central Suburban South games closer in 2016 than they did in 2015 when they lost all three by an average of 27.7 points.
North Shore Country Day
The Raiders ended 2015 on a two-game winning streak, but they didn’t play a tournament over the break. Rust could be an issue for a team that hasn’t played since Thursday, Dec. 17. North Shore was scheduled to play on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
Regina
Kerry Durham is high on her team, but the Panthers, who have no seniors on the varsity roster, might be a season away from becoming a player in the postseason.
Ridgewood
According to coach Amanda Timothy, the Rebels (6-8) are playing their best basketball of the season heading into the new year.
Ridgewood, behind the strong play of senior forward Lexie Crotty, went 3-1 at the Guerin Yuletide Classic and took third place. Crotty was named to the all-tournament team. Juniors Frankie Annunzio, Katherine Rasche and Catherine Spanola also have been factors this season, Timothy said.
Twitter: @harnesspreps
