Girls basketball: February 2009 Archives

After helping Benet to a third-place league finish, junior Nikki Bell and senior Annie Doyle were recently named to the all-East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Bell and Doyle led the Redwings in scoring as they finished 7-3 in conference, behind ESCC-champion Fenwick and Marian Catholic. Benet went on to win its first regional title since 2006 before falling to Bolingbrook in Monday's sectional semifinals.

Naperville Central senior Kelley Hendrick was selected for the third straight season as a unanimous choice for the all-DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball team.

Hendrick, the defending Sun Player of the Year, was joined on the first team by teammate Emma Ondik, a sophomore who was also a unanimous choice.

Naperville North senior Kaelyn Witkowski also earned first-team honors.

Two Redhawks -- junior Claire Fleming and freshman Emma Donahue -- were named Special Mention, while North senior Haley Krentz and Central junior Catherine Tanck earned Honorable Mention nods.

Monday marked the exit of Waubonsie Valley coach Kris Kalivas, who is stepping down to take over the Metea Valley program next winter. Kalivas left on a bittersweet note, having watched the Warriors fall -- again -- to Hinsdale Central after winning their third consecutive regional title.

"I think reality is starting to sink in," said Kalivas, who went 122-49 in seven season with Waubonsie. "I don't think I really thought about it up until this point. It's nice to go out having won a regional championship. And I had such a great group of kids to work with this year that I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Meanwhile, Benet coach Peter Paul confirmed that he plans to return for a 25th season on the Redwings bench. Paul cited his enjoyment of this season for his reason for wanting to come back.

The Redwings finished 19-12 after falling to Bolingbrook in the sectional semifinals Monday night. They won a regional title for the first time since 2006 and finished third in the always-tough East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Paul earned career win No. 500 earlier this season, which sparked speculation he would retire.

While Monday's loss spelled the end for Benet's five seniors -- Annie Doyle, Annie Gallagher, Colleen O'Shea, Mary Schuessler and Jess Pavlinec -- the Redwings return some talented players for next season.

Among those are junior Nikki Bell and sophomore Danielle Canulli, who often came off the bench to spark the Redwings. Canulli did that in the regional final, scoring a team-high 12 points in an upset of Batavia.

Canulli credited the seniors for helping her improve as the season progressed.

"They taught us to play together," Canulli said. "It was tough at the beginning of the year, but by now we all came together. They always pushed us on defense and it was good because we learned to push back. That prepared us for games mentally."

Also returning for the Redwings will be starters Brianne Riley and Ashley Veselik, as well as freshman Gintare Sankauskaite and sophomore Katie Ernsting.

For the second time in three years, Waubonsie Valley saw its season end with a loss to Hinsdale Central. It seems every time the Warriors turn around, the Red Devils are there to block them.

The teams have also met three years in a row at the Wheaton North holiday tournament and three times during the regular season since 2006. Eight games. Eight Hinsdale Central wins.

"It always happens with us against this team," Warriors senior Kiki McClellan said. "It stinks. I'm glad we got to play Hinsdale Central one more time. I just wish we could have pulled closer in the end. Overall, I'm really proud of us. We made it through regionals and got to sectionals."

In a season that hasn't gone exactly to script, Waubonsie Valley finds itself right where it planned to be all along -- in the sectional semifinals at home.

When the Warriors walked off the court Feb. 10 with a senior-night victory over St. Charles East, Jessica Morice said she didn't want that to be her last game playing in that gym. And she was a big reason the Warriors earned the chance to return home for Monday's matchup against their nemesis, Hinsdale Central.

Morice scored a game-high 11 points in Waubonsie's 42-26 win over Downers Grove North. But that only told part of the story. She battered the Trojans with her physical defensive play and aggressive drives to the basket.

"I was complaining about No. 21 (Morice) a lot tonight, but I'd take her on my team in a second," Trojans coach Paul Maggiore said.

It doesn't take much to understand what the Benet girls basketball team needs in order to win. The Redwings need big games out of their three key players -- junior Nikki Bell, and seniors Annie Doyle and Jess Pavlinec -- and then for one of their support players to add something to the mix.

That's exactly what happened Thursday night in the Redwings' come-from-behind 49-46 victory over Batavia in the Hinsdale South Regional final.

Bell hit the game-winning free throws with 20.7 seconds left and finished with eight points. Doyle and Pavlinec each scored 11 points, while Pavlinec added 10 rebounds. And sophomore Danielle Canulli came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points, including a 3-pointer that banked in during Benet's fourth-quarter rally.

"We feel that Jess, Annie and Nikki are the cornerstone of our team," Benet coach Peter Paul said. "When they come to play, we've got an opportunity to win."

Pavlinec came up big in the final minutes of the first half, helping key an 8-2 stretch that cut a 12-point deficit to 27-21. She scored back-to-back baskets on offensive rebounds.

"I just decided that we weren't hitting our outside shots and I knew I could get the offensive rebounds," said Pavlinec, who finished with six offensive rebounds. "They weren't boxing me out that much and I could just grab the ball. I just jumped and put the ball back in."

Paul won his 14th regional title in 24 seasons, but first since 2006. The Redwings had won 10 in a row before that.

Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams spread the praise around after the Wildcats pulled away late for a 57-41 win over Downers Grove South in Tuesday's girls basketball regional semifinal at Neuqua.

Instead of spending time praising the obvious players -- Becky Williford, Danielle Davis and Morgan Williams, who each scored 11 points -- Williams directed attention to several deserving others.

Kim Puk, Danielle Carroll and Jenna Marsalli were credited for playing some key minutes to let others rest. But Williams was especially effusive in his praise of Ashleigh Jones, who saw extended action when starter Erica Jordan got in foul trouble.

"The real big key was Ashleigh Jones," Williams said. "I thought she made some great rebounds and did some good things underneath that helped us, especially giving Erica a break."

Jones finished with four points and three rebounds, scoring both her baskets on back-to-back offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to put the WIldcats ahead by 11.

The challenge is daunting, no doubt. Naperville North, fresh from its overtime victory over East Aurora, gets top-seeded Bolingbrook next.

Not that the Huskies are giving up, but even senior Kaelyn Witkowski laughed a little when asked what the Huskies' game plan was for the Raiders, the nation's 11th-ranked team by USA Today.

"Play hard and have fun," Witkowski said.

That's all anybody can ask of the Huskies (5-23).