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The girls basketball season tips off this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Kane County Chronicle coverage area.
Batavia
Coach: Kevin Jensen
2020 record: 5-11
Top Returners: Brooke Carlson, so. (G, 5-6).; Tessa Towers, sr. (F, 6-5).; Claire Nazos, sr. (G, 5-5)
Top newcomers: Addison Prewitt, fr. (G, 5-8).; Hallie Crane, fr. (F, 5-9)
About the Bulldogs: Batavia certainly has one of the more potent 1-2 punches teams will see this year with Carlson and Towers both returning. Carlson, already one of the top players in the conference as a sophomore should only get better after her 14.5 point and nearly four assists per game output last year. Towers, a Wisconsin-Madison recruit, has long been a double-double machine and averaged 17.1 and 12.3 rebounds per game last season. Nazos, a Dubuque recruit, is a steady shooter from the outside and a multi-year starter. Don’t overlook Nicole McLaughlin, a honorable mention all-conference selection last year.
“...There is a great mix of experienced seniors and talented youth. Batavia will get varsity contributions from all four classes this season. Tessa Towers leads that way and continues to get better and better. Brooke Carlson is as dynamic as they come with the ball in her hands,” Jensen said.
Burlington Central
Coach: Collin Kalamatas (third season)
Last season’s record: 13-2, 7-0 FVC (FVC Tournament champions)
Top returners: Taylor Charles, sr., F, 6-2; Becca Carani, sr., G, 5-8; Rylie DuVal, sr., G, 5-7
Key newcomers: Emma Payton, so., F, 6-0
Worth noting: The Rockets didn’t drop an FVC game last season, going 7-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the FVC Tournament. Burlington has won its past 20 FVC games overall. … The Rockets won a Class 3A regional title in 2019-20 with a 29-5 record. … Gone is point guard Elana Wells, who was a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection after averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and three steals a game. She is now at NCAA Division II Indianapolis, along with McHenry graduate Liz Alsot and Marengo graduate Marissa Knobloch. … Charles committed to D-I Princeton in June and has established herself as one of the FVC’s top players after transferring from Montini last season. She earned All-Area second team honors and averaged 10.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. … Burlington also returns solid scoring from Carani, who averaged 8.9 points a game and made 20 3s. Carani was named All-Area honorable mention. … “We’re looking forward to another season of growth and competition,” Kalamatas said. “This team is focused on getting better each day and not looking ahead. It’s going to be a fun group to watch with a lot of athleticism on the court. We are looking forward to competing every night.”
-- Alex Kantecki
Geneva
Coach: Sarah Meadows
2020 record: 8-4
Top returners: Cassidy Arni, jr. (F, 5-11); Leah Palmer, so. (G/F, 5-11); Zosia Wrobel, sr. (F, 6-0)
Top newcomers: Caroline Madden, so. (G, 5-6); Rilee Hasegawa, jr. (G, 5-2)
About the Vikings: The Vikings’ backcourt will certainly look different without Kate Palmer running the point anymore, but they return Cassidy Arni and Zosia Wrobel in the front court who are both solid shooters and all-around players. Leah Palmer should build upon a steady freshman season. So, with that nucleus, the Vikings appear to be in good shape heading into the season but it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the rotation develops as the weeks come.
“[I’m] really excited to worked with this group for girls,” Meadows said. “They are working hard and they will be fun to watch. We are so ready for a full and somewhat normal basketball season. Our conference and schedule is really tough. There will be some great girls basketball played this winter.”
Kaneland
Coach: Kelsey Flanagan (3rd season)
Last season’s record: 9-4, 9-4 Interstate Eight
Top returning players: McKenzie Schueler, sr. (PG), Megan Noel, sr. (G/F), Taylor Seaton, sr. (G)
Top new players: Lexi Schueler, so. (PG), Kendra Brown, fr. (G)
Worth noting: The Knights are loaded with seniors with seven, so experience shouldn’t be a problem. … McKenzie Schueler is coming back from an ACL injury that wiped out her season last year and is expected to make up for lost time. … “I anticipate our team playing physical on both ends of the floor,” Flanagan said. “We’re a very different team than we were last year with several 3 and 4 year varsity players graduating. They’re a very competitive group that wants to win. They hustle and play hard all the time.”
-- Lenny Eisele
St. Charles North
Coach: Mike Tomczak
2020 record: 12-3
Top returners: Reagan Sipla, so. (F, 6-1).; Alyssa Hughes, jr. (G, 5-7).; Erin Stack, sr. (F, 6-3)
Top newcomers: Katrina Stack, so. (F, 6-1).; Addy Uhmlauf, fr. (G/F, 5-7); Hannah Ganser, fr. (G/F, 5-7)
About the North Stars: The North Stars are returning a boatload of talent and should figure into the Conference title mix and beyond at season’s end. They return a number of multi-year starters in Alyssa Hughes, Morgan Klug and Erin Stack, while sophomore Reagan Sipla should build upon an extremely promising freshman campaign. Hughes is a phenomenal shooter from anywhere on the court and will be a matchup problem for any team to keep an eye on, as is Sipla. Eva Saltsman will bring good energy and rebounds. Keep an eye on Katrina Stack, who should push for serious playing time out of the gate.
“We’ve been [a good shooting team] the last several years...we’ve been able to help develop some really good shooters over the years,” Tomczak said. “We’re very fortunate, in my opinion, to – at almost any given time – have five players on the floor who can shoot the three. There’s an adage about living and dying by the three, but we hope to have enough versatility this year, so when that shot is not falling or when teams try to take that shot away, we’ve got some things we can do to finish inside.”
St. Charles East Saints
Coach: Michael Murphy
2020 record: 7-9
Top returners: Torrie Kortan, sr. (G, 5-9); Emma Yakey, sr. (G/F, 5-8); Lexi DiOrio,so. (G, 5-8)
Top newcomers: Olivia Kiefer, sr. (F, 5-8 ); Hannah Masud, jr. (G, 5-6)
About the Saints: St. Charles East should be poised for a solid season, as it returns four starters from last season’s team: Yakey, Kortan, DiOrio and Alexis Maradis. Kortan is expected to be a top scorer. Though technically not a true newcomer, the Saints are looking forward to welcoming back Olivia Kiefer, a starter from the 2019 season, who is returning after a year away from the program. Cali Papez, who grabbed four rebounds per game last year, is expected to slide into a starting role after a prominent bench role from last season.
“[Kortan] is on pace to be a 1,000 point career scorer and has a chance to become school’s all-time leading scorer,” Murphy said. “...[Papez] will move from the sixth man role to a starting position and is another coveted [Division III] prospect.”