Girls basketball: Postseason time for area teams

Christen Prasse (middle) of Benet Academy looks for an open teammate while double teamed by Downers Grove South. Following Prasse is Redwing teammate Nicole Valentine (right). | Jon Cunningham~For Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 11, 2013 9:26PM

The regular season is over for local girls high school basketball teams and now it’s “one loss and you’re gone time” as the Illinois State Tournament begins Monday.

All six Naperville-area teams are all entered in the Oswego Sectional and five start their regional action at Benet or Metea Valley on Tuesday, while Waubonsie Valley begins Monday at the Lemont Regional.

Neuqua Valley, which ended the season at 24-3 and grabbed the Valley Division title of the Upstate Eight Conference, is the most highly-regarded of the locals going in as the No. 2 seed when they begin play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Metea Valley against the winner of the Lockport (15 seed) vs Joliet Central (18) game that kicks off regional play on Monday.

The Wildcats, whose strong suits are speed, depth, experience and incredible energy on offense and defense, are, according to coach Mike Williams, poised to make a deep run in the playoffs.

“We figured that we’d have a good season,” said Williams. “But we couldn’t even imagine it would be as good a season as we had. Our kids are experienced. They’ve been through the ups and downs and they know how to handle it. They have to respond with a playoff mentality and know that survival is the key. We’ll need to play with the maturity that we’ve shown all year.”

The Wildcats are led by all-conference players such as forwards Allison Hedrick and Najee Smith, both of whom can influence a game in a variety of ways, and savvy point guard Malia Smith. Six-foot-2 sophomore Bryce Menendez is developing into one of the top post players in the area..

The No. 3 seed in the sectional is Naperville Central (23-6), which will be at the Benet Regional on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to face the winner of Monday’s contest between East Aurora (13) vs. Plainfield Central (19) game.

The Redhawks, who started the season at 16-1, then struggled offensively in January, finished up on a high note with a pair of victories.

Naperville Central has a tall and talented senior frontline led by Victoria Trowbridge who scores 12 a game and rebounds at an 11-per-game clip, and forwards Jamie Cuny, a fine shooter and Laura Dierking, a valuable rebounder who can score inside when opponents pay too much attention to Trowbridge.

Playmaker Shannon Ryan and defensive catalyst Cierra Stanciel make the Redhawks go in the backcourt with help from Emily Kraft.

Stanciel has the kind of speed that few teams can match.

“We’re looking forward to doing well in the playoffs,” said Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum. “We have to play good defense and stay out of foul trouble.”

Regional hosts Benet and Metea Valley are seeded sixth and seventh and both begin postseason play on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Redwings (19-9), possibly the top shooting team in the area, are led by senior Christen Prasse, who is equally adept at hitting from the perimeter and taking it to the hoop. She’s also a skilled distributor who can find the open man, a fine defender and one of the top rebounders on the team. In short, Prasse is the whole package.

She’s ably assisted by a deep cast of young and talented supporting players including Emily Schramek, Emily Eshoo, Kathleen Doyle and Eden Olson.

“We don’t have great size,” said coach Peter Paul. “But, we’re going to be in every game if we can shoot the ball well. Our younger kids grew up this season and hopefully that will carry over to the postseason.”

The Redwings opening night competition will come from a vastly improved No. 11 seeded Naperville North (14-13), which won five of its final six conference games.

“We’ve grown a lot in the last few games and we haven’t peaked yet,” said Huskies coach Jacquie Discipio. “We have good speed and our defense, which has sparked us, will have to bring us home here in the stretch.”

The Huskies feature floor leader Zoe Swift, a senior, and a trio of impressive underclassmen at forward, Kayla Sharples, Cece Pope and Morganne Freeman.

“We knew we had potential,” said Discipio. “And now our maturity and confidence are starting to develop.”

Metea Valley (21-6), which came into the season as potentially one of the top teams in Illinois, is missing two starters. Anna Petersen and Bria Walker both suffered torn ACLs and will be out of the playoffs.

Top scorer and rebounder Lori Obendorf and fellow starters Nia Flowers and Jenny Voytell have shouldered added responsibilities as the Mustangs carried on and continued to win.

“Our team had a small adjustment period,” said coach Kris Kalivas. “But they’re coming together. They want to win and do well for the two injured players. And they want to prove they can overcome adversary. We have to do the small things like boxing out, taking care of the ball and managing the tempo of the gamer. Those have been our keys all year long.”

The Mustangs open the tournament against tenth-seeded Oswego on Tuesday.

Waubonsie Valley, which is going through a rebuilding year, opens play against West Aurora, Monday at 8 p.m. in the Lemont Regional. Morgan Grastorf, Ryaen Johnson and Kendall O’Sullivan are the Warriors leaders.

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