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Athlete of the Week
Megan Madsen, Johnsburg, sr., G
Madsen, who recently joined her twin sister, Morgan, as the ninth member of Johnsburg's 1,000-point club, helped lead the Skyhawks to a 3-0 week, including two wins at DeKalb's sixth annual Martin Luther King Classic.
Megan Madsen scored 16 points in a KRC win against Woodstock, 53-25, and led Johnsburg in scoring in both games at DeKalb. The 5-foot-9 senior scored a season-high 21 points in a 66-51 win over Plainfield East and added 15 points in a 43-41 win against Hinsdale South, earning all-tournament honors with her sister.
Megan Madsen is averaging 12.5 points a game and leads the Skyhawks in assists.
Northwest Herald Power Rankings
1. Marengo (18-5): The Indians only played one game last week, but it was a huge one. Led by Marissa Knobloch's 27 points, Marengo knocked off Burlington Central, 68-52, to move one-half game behind the Rockets in the Kishwaukee River Conference.
2. Hampshire (21-5): The Whip-Purs'21 wins match the most under sixth-year coach Mike Featherly, whose 2014-15 team went 21-8. Hampshire leads the FVC at 10-1 with five games left.
3. Dundee-Crown (17-7): The Chargers beat Prairie Ridge, 53-27, in FVC action and fell to Libertyville, 54-40, in a nonconference matchup. A showdown with last year's FVC winner, McHenry, looms on Saturday afternoon.
4. McHenry (16-8): The Warriors aren't out of the FVC race just yet. McHenry has won seven of eight games overall, including a 47-43 FVC win over previously unbeaten Hampshire to move to 7-3 in conference play.
5. Crystal Lake Central (14-5): The Tigers still have a say in the FVC race, too, but Saturday's 53-49 loss to crosstown rival Prairie Ridge, makes their chances for an FVC championship less likely. Central is 6-4 in conference play.
Worth noting
Shooting for a Cure: Crystal Lake Central is hosting the second annual "Shooting for a Cure for ALS" awareness and fundraiser at 7 p.m. Saturday when the Tigers play their FVC game against Cary-Grove.
Marian Central, which hosted last year's event, Marengo and Prairie Ridge are participating and will be in attendance for Saturday's game. All area girls basketball teams are encouraged to join. C-G also is participating.
The fundraiser runs through February and anybody can donate money. To learn more about ALS or make a donation, go to https://fundraise.als.net/faithfuls-fight-als. All money raised goes to the ALS Therapy Development Institute.
Rockets have company: Marengo's win over Burlington Central, the Rockets' first KRC loss of the year, puts the Indians, who also have one loss, in good position to share or possibly win the conference title outright in the final weeks before the postseason.
Marengo has four games left (two against Richmond-Burton, Harvard and Woodstock), and the Rockets have three (Johnsburg, Harvard, Woodstock North).
Beating Burlington meant a lot to Indians players and coaches. The Rockets move to the FVC next season.
"Burlington has kind of been the measuring stick in this conference," Indians coach Nick Rode said. "We've been working the last couple years to get up to a spot we can be competitive with them. It's really nice for this group to get the final conference game against them on their court."
The rivalry has been heated with plenty of drama and mostly close games. Burlington won the KRC title outright last year with an 11-1 record, but the Indians got some revenge with a 46-44 overtime win for Marengo's first regional championship in 13 years.
In their first KRC game this season, Burlington pulled out a 50-45 win.
"We play each other so much that we know everybody's strengths, and they know ours," said Marengo's Hannah Ritter, who had four points, nine rebounds, nine assists and eight blocks in Saturday's win. "Being able to work past a team that knows exactly what we do and win, that's awesome."
Chasing Andrews: Huntley's Kamsi Nwogu, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, fell three points short of tying the school's single-game scoring record, tallying 31 points in a 70-56 win over Plainfield East at the DeKalb MLK Tournament on Monday.
The record for most points in a game for the Raiders is held by Illinois junior Ali Andrews, who scored 34 twice, once as a junior and again as a senior. Andrews is McHenry County's all-time leading scorer (girls or boys) with 2,548 points.
What to Watch
Woodstock at Woodstock North, 7 p.m. Thursday: The Blue Streaks and Thunder battle for city bragging rights.
Dundee-Crown at McHenry, 1:30 p.m. Saturday: The Warriors, last season's FVC champion, are still in contention for the FVC title. They trail D-C by two games going into play Wednesday.
Cary-Grove at Marengo, 7 p.m. Monday: The Indians are 3-1 against FVC opponents so far. Their only loss came in their season opener against McHenry.