:quality(70):focal(1454x633:1464x643)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/KCHNJFY5JRGAXMVDS4PI4LA6UU.JPG)
The IHSA postseason gets underway Saturday for Daily Chronicle area teams with a quartet of play-in games for the Class 2A and 1A teams.
Here are five storylines to watch.
All four Class 2A, 1A teams all open Saturday
Genoa-Kingston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek and Hiawatha all open the postseason Saturday, and all except the Royals are on the road.
No. 6 H-BR hosts No. 12 Newark in the first round of the Class 1A Indian Creek Regional, while the No. 8 Timberwolves head to No. 7 Ashton-Franklin Center. The Royals have beaten Newark twice this year, 53-32 in the Little Ten Tournament and 67-28 on Feb. 3. The Timberwolves haven’t faced AFC yet.
With wins, Indian Creek would face No. 1 Serena in the semifinals of the IC Regional at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and H-BR would face No. 4 Yorkville Christian at 7:30 p.m.
Hiawatha opens its home regional on the road as the No. 10 Hawks head to No. 9 Alden-Hebron for a 6 p.m. game Saturday. The winner heads to Kirkland to face No. 1 Pecatonica at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a Class 1A Hiawatha Regional semifinal.
In Class 2A, No. 9 Genoa-Kingston opens up against No. 6 Marengo at 2 p.m. Saturday in a play-in game in the Stillman Valley Regional. The Cogs beat Marengo 42-39 in Genoa on Jan. 9. The winner gets No. 1 Stillman Valley at 7 p.m. Monday.
Larger schools hitting the road
It’s not just that DeKalb, Sycamore and Kaneland are hitting the road for the regional tournaments. All three schools face trips of 45 minutes or more.
Sycamore has the longest trip, going 62 miles to face Plano in the semifinals of the Class 3A Sterling Regional. DeKalb has to travel 57 miles to face Lake Park in the semis of the Class 3A Willowbrook Regional.
Those two trips make Kaneland’s 32-mile jaunt to face either Woodstock North or Harvard in a Class 3A Crystal Lake South semifinal look like a trip around the corner.
And things won’t get any shorter for Kaneland or Sycamore should they win their respective regionals, as each would head to Rockford for the Boylan Sectional, another roughly hour-long trip for each.
DeKalb opens with another tough defensive team
The Barbs (19-10 before Thursday’s game at Plainfield East) have been winning with defense this year. They are 11-0 when holding opponents under 40 points. The defense is a big part of why they are poised for their first 20-win season since 2005-06, according to IHSA records.
But Lake Park (18-12) has been winning with defense as well. The last time they gave up more than 40 points and won was in a 64-41 win against Willowbrook on Dec. 12. They are 17-1 when giving up fewer than 40 points this year.
So 40 may be the magic number to get the win. The Barbs have gotten their offensive production from various places this year. Olivia Schermerhorn and Alica Johnson can shoot the 3 or slash to the hoop, while Kezaria Mitchell and Brytasia Long provide an inside presence. Freshman Johnna Patrick has worked her way into the starting lineup and is a threat from 3-point range.
No. 1 St. Charles East (24-6) likely awaits the winner in the regional championship game.
Sycamore brings regional winning streak into Sterling
Sycamore (8-21 heading into Thursday’s game against Geneva) has won a regional in four straight postseasons and a total of eight since the 2013-14 season.
But the Spartans are in rebuilding mode this year. Their top two scorers are freshman Sadie Lang and sophomore Quinn Carrier. There are only two seniors on the roster, both rotational players.
The No. 7 Spartans open with No. 4 Plano (25-4) in the teams' first meeting since the Reapers left the Interstate 8 after the 2022-2023 season. No. 1 Sterling (25-5) awaits the winner.
Kaneland shooting for back-to-back regional titles
Kaneland reached back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. The Knights won the Interstate 8, their first conference title in 20 years. Now they look for back-to-back regional titles for the first time since the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons, according to IHSA archives.
With a win in the semifinals, the No. 1 Knights (22-9) will face either No. 4 Crystal Lake South or No. 5 Woodstock for the regional title.
The Knights are powered by Kendra Brown, who reached the 1,500-point mark for her career earlier in February and is the program’s career leader in 3-pointers made. She closed the regular season with a 28-point performance against La Salle-Peru. Sam Kerry has been a reliable second scoring option this season for the Knights.
The Boylan Sectional could prove interesting should the Knights advance, with a potential semifinal against No. 2 Dixon (25-5) lurking. The Duchesses beat the Knights 47-38 in December. The winner of that game could face the sectional’s other No. 1 seed, Sterling. Kaneland lost to the Golden Warriors 46-30 in January.