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The girls basketball playoffs start Saturday for some teams.
The goal is the same for every team whether a top sectional seed or playing on the road in a play-in game. Everyone wants to string some wins together and make a playoff run.
Here are four things to know as six local teams try to make a mark in the postseason.
Sycamore and Kaneland are on a collision course
Will the second meeting between the teams this season be as classic as the first? In the first meeting, Sophia Klacik’s 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining gave the Spartans their first lead of the game. It also was the last points for either team in Sycamore’s 46-45 comeback win.
The second meeting is Wednesday. Surely it will be just as memorable, maybe even with more late-game heroics. But even with that game still to be played, there’s a chance at a third meeting between Sycamore and Kaneland.
The No. 1-seeded Spartans (20-9) head to the Class 3A Belvidere North Regional, while the No. 2-seeded Knights (21-8) host a regional. If both teams can avoid upsets, they’ll meet in the semifinals of the Sycamore Sectional.
Since the postseason split into four classes, the two teams have met three times in the postseason, all won by Sycamore according to IHSA records. All three have been in regional finals, including last year’s 49-28 win for the Spartans.
DeKalb looking for home upset
The No. 12 Barbs (15-14) open their Class 4A DeKalb Regional against No. 5 Wheaton North (18-11).
The Barbs have been winning with defense this season, and they’re facing a Falcons team that can put up points. DeKalb still hasn’t won a game this year in which they’ve allowed more than 45 points.
The Falcons, on the other hand, generally win when they score more than 50.
There aren’t exactly a lot of common opponents between the two – the Falcons haven’t played a DVC school this season – but there’s one notable common opponent. The Falcons beat Sycamore 62-56 on Jan. 15, which was the Spartans’ seventh loss in 11 games at that point.
The Spartans have won five straight, including 58-41 against DeKalb on Jan. 26 in the annual rivalry game between the two schools.
The small schools are all going early
The three teams playing in Class 1A and 2A all start with play-in games Saturday in a win-or-go-home situation. Of course, Genoa-Kingston goes home with a win as well because it is hosting a regional.
The No. 9 Cogs (11-15) start their home 2A regional at No. 6 Johnsburg at 6 p.m. Saturday, with the winner facing No. 1 Stillman Valley in the first round of the Genoa-Kingston regional.
No. 11 Hiawatha (8-22) will head to No. 8 Alden Hebron on Saturday with the winner getting No. 1 Orangeville in a Class 1A Rockford Lutheran Regional semifinal Tuesday. No. 9 Hinckley-Big Rock (17-11) will be at home against Yorkville Christian. The winner plays No. 1 Serena in a Class 1A Earlville Regional semifinal.
The Royals have a particularly tough road
It’s said that if you want to go far in the tournament, you’ve got to beat everybody anyway. Hinckley-Big Rock is going to test that theory.
Should the Royals survive No. 10 Yorkville Christian (11-13), they’ll play No. 1 Serena in a semifinal. The Huskers (22-3) dispatched the Royals 48-36 last month in the lone meeting between the teams.
It’s a tough draw for the Royals, who have won back-to-back regional titles. But history-making sophomore Anna Herrmann, junior post Sami Carlino and athletic junior Raven Wagner have a big task ahead of them.