Girls basketball: CL Central’s Katie Hamill, Marian’s Madison Kenyon lead Home to all-star victory

HEBRON – Marian Central’s Madison Kenyon drove down the lane and lobbed a no-look pass over a defender to Crystal Lake Central’s Katie Hamill for an easy layup.

Fans in the crowd gushed with approval at the bit of showtime befitting of the atmosphere.

“Madison and Katie had those give-and-go’s, that’s good teamwork right there,” said Alden-Hebron coach Marty Hammond, who coached the two girls on the Home team. “Madison dished it off to Katie and the fans were like, ‘Whoa!’. Girls can play basketball, there were some great basketball players out there.”

Hamill and Kenyon have known each other since fifth grade and made the most of their first chance to play together. They led the Home to an 83-65 victory in the girls game at the McHenry County Area All-Star Basketball Extravaganza on Sunday at A-H’s Tigard Gymnasium.

Hamill led the Home team with 17 points and seven rebounds and was selected s the game’s MVP. Kenyon scored 13 points and had five assists, starting with the Home’s first two baskets on fast breaks.

“We have been playing against each other since we were in fifth grade,” said Kenyon, who will play at NCAA Division III St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, next year. “We’ve always known of each other. We’d always talk before our games. Her mom (Vicki) had camps in the summer and we would go there, and that’s how I got to know her.”

Woodstock North’s Addison Rishling scored 10 points, while her teammate Caylin Stevens added eight. Huntley’s Cassidy Serpe also scored eight.

Prairie Ridge’s Addie Meyer led all players with 20 points and a game-high three 3-pointers. Hampshire’s Avery Cartee added 10 points and Hampshire’s Whitney Thompson, who won the girls 3-point contest with 10, scored eight.

Thompson finished a strong first half by both teams by banking in a 3-pointer from just past halfcourt.

After halftime, the Away team could not keep pace. Stevens hit two 3s, Cary-Grove’s Emily Larry hit one and Rishling hit one as the Home jumped ahead and kept its distance.

Hamill, Kenyon and Meyer all were Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selections, but the Away was without another first-teamer, Hampshire guard Ashley Herzing, a 1,000-point career scorer who led the area with 88 3s. Herzing has a stress fracture in her left femur and is on crutches.

“Not having Herzing was tough because she is an exceptional shooter and would’ve given us another threat,” said Johnsburg coach Erin Stochl, who coached the Away team. “After participating in the all-star game as a player, I am very grateful for the opportunity to coach in it as well.

“This all-star game is a great opportunity for these kids to wear their high school jersey one more time. Always a great tradition and a great atmosphere. I am thankful to have been apart of it this year.”

Hamill is a two-time Northwest Herald Player of the Year and Central’s career scoring leader. She will play at D-II Missouri-St. Louis next year. Although they haven’t played together, Hamill and Kenyon have trained together and attended Hamill Hoops, a summer camp run by Vicki Hamill, Katie’s mother.

“I’ve known Madison for a long time,” Hamill said. “We work out with each other a lot in the summer at Hamill Hoops. Now we still train with each other. We have a connection.

“It was so much fun. It was nice to get to know everyone.”

Hammond was thrilled to coach the Home team in his school’s home gym.

“I was honored that they would ask me to coach this team,” he said. “This team is loaded with talent, and it showed, especially in the second half. Their intensity, desire and stamina took over.

“I know people in the stands were, ‘Why are you pressing in an All-Star game?’ To us, it’s a basketball game, and it was the girls’ idea to press. I asked them if they just wanted to go back on defense and they said, ‘No.’ "