Girls basketball: Prairie Ridge’s Karsen Karlblom rides hot hand into sectional semifinals

Prairie Ridge girls basketball coach Tim Taege is happy to have the program’s all-time leading scorer and 3-point shooter – senior Karsen Karlblom – by his side.

In Prairie Ridge’s 32-30 win over Cary-Grove in the Class 3A Grayslake Central Regional final Thursday, the four-year starting guard hit her first seven shots. The Wolves held on to win their first regional championship since 2014, with Karlblom making a key defensive tip on the Trojans’ final play that ended in a desperation 3 at the buzzer.

Karlblom raised the regional plaque with teammates around her and Taege soaking it all in a few feet away.

[ Girls basketball: Prairie Ridge hangs on to beat Cary-Grove for 3A regional title ]

Third-seeded Prairie Ridge (27-5) plays No. 2-seeded Deerfield (25-5), which averages 63 points a game, in a Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Wolves never have won a sectional title.

Karlblom is the school’s all-time leader in career points and 3-pointers and also owns the Wolves’ single-season record in both categories this season, despite her being the focal point of opposing coaches and defenses.

“Every team’s game plan is to keep it out of her hands and make the game difficult for Karsen,” Taege said. “She sees in-her-face defense every single night, people pulling her shirt, talking to her every single game, and that’s a hard thing for a 17-, 18-year-old girl to handle.

“She’s done that well, and I’m excited for her to just play next year and not have to carry all of that weight.”

Karlblom, who will play next year at NCAA Division III Hope College in Holland, Michigan, can almost always be found in her favorite place.

“She’s always in the gym,” Taege said. “[Assistant coach Steve Karlblom, Karsen’s dad], they’re at PR all of the time. When you come in for practices, Karsen is shooting and everybody else is putting their shoes on. After, Karsen is shooting and everybody else it taking shoes off. That is just how she’s been from Day 1 as a freshman.

“She’s certainly deserving of the success and the scoring and everything she’s been able to accomplish for herself and for the team.”

Karlblom also is close to the single-season record for steals but trails teammate and senior point guard Elani Nanos in the category. Nanos also broke the team’s single-season record in assists this year, while senior forward Kelly Gende owns the Wolves’ record for rebounds in a season.

“That three-headed monster of Elani, Karsen and Kelly ... they don’t miss anything,” Taege said. “They’ve been in every game and have put up consistent numbers.”

Charles making own history: Burlington Central forward Taylor Charles, who is averaging 13.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game this season, set the Rockets’ single-season records for blocked shots (113) and rebounds (379). She also owns the team’s career record with 162 blocks shots in only 47 games.

The second-seeded Rockets (23-9), who knocked off Boylan, 57-37, in a Class 3A Boylan Regional final, will face off against No. 1-seeded Montini (24-8) in a Class 3A Kaneland Sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Her talent is indescribable,” Burlington coach Collin Kalamatas said. “What she’s able to do on the defensive end is obvious, but her presence under the basket and her ability to rebound is off the charts. Offensively everything came together this year. She’s shot the ball so well from the 3-point line all year, 45% or something ridiculous.

“She’s so good on both ends of the floor, and she hasn’t even reached her full potential. She’s going to be so good at the next level. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

Tuesday’s sectional semifinal will be a homecoming game of sorts for Charles, who transferred from Montini to Burlington after her freshman season. Charles, a 6-foot-2 forward, will play at D-I Princeton next year.

“I’m excited,” said Charles, who has yet to face her former team. “The team’s a little different, the coach is different, but I’m excited for the atmosphere of it and everything. I like the girls there, so I’m super excited. I can’t wait.”

Raiders still dancing: No. 2-seeded Huntley (23-6) will go for its fourth sectional title in program history, starting with a Class 4A DeKalb Sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 1-seeded Barrington (26-5).

Huntley, which beat Guilford, 50-36, in the Jefferson Regional final, has had to overcome big obstacles this season, including losing two starters to ACL injuries and a two-week COVID-19 pause that disrupted Fox Valley Conference play for the Raiders. Huntley, however, still won the FVC championship outright with a 17-1 record.

The Raiders had a jam-packed schedule down the stretch, sometimes playing five games a week while fighting for their first conference crown since 2017.

“I think we were just very disciplined in practice, and we took time in film to really study,” Huntley junior Jessie Ozzauto said. “We did what we needed to do in practice even though we didn’t have many time between games.

“We just really focused and prepared for every game as much as we could.”

Junior Morgan McCaughn said they still found ways to bond when they couldn’t get together on the court.

“We did a bunch of team bonding outside of practice and that really brought us together,” McCaughn said. “We know that hard times, there’s always a good that comes out of it, and we just all kept out heads in it. I love this team. I’m excited to keep playing.”

Three-time champs: Johnsburg’s Macy Madsen and Molly Wetzel claimed their third regional title in four seasons last week when the fourth-seeded Skyhawks defeated top-seeded Rosary, 44-40, in overtime in the Class 2A Marian Central Regional final.

Johnsburg will host second-seeded Byron (26-4) in a Class 2A Johnsburg Sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

[ Girls basketball: Johnsburg holds off Rosary, wins 3rd straight regional title ]

Madsen and Wetzel played on varsity as freshmen and have been a part of all three of the Skyhawks’ most recent regional championships, all under coach Erin Stochl. There was no postseason last year because of the pandemic.

Madsen and Wetzel are the area’s first pair of teammates to win three straight regionals since Dundee-Crown’s Paige Gieseke and Allison Michalski did so from 2015 to 2017. Huntley’s Ali Andrews, McHenry County’s all-time leading scorer, and Kayla Barretto won four in a row from 2013 to 2016.

Sectional glance

Class 2A Johnsburg Sectional

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Semifinal 1: No. 4 Johnsburg vs. No. 2 Byron, 6 p.m.

Semifinal 2: No. 1 Winnebago vs. No. 3 Aurora Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 24

Championship: Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2, 7 p.m.

Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Semifinal 1: No. 1 Carmel vs. No. 4 St. Viator, 6 p.m.

Semifinal 2: No. 2 Deerfield vs. No. 3 Prairie Ridge, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 24

Championship: Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2, 7 p.m.

Class 3A Kaneland Sectional

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Semifinal 1: No. 1 Sycamore vs. No. 2 Providence Catholic, 6 p.m.

Semifinal 2: No. 1 Montini vs. No. 2 Burlington Central, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 24

Championship: Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2, 7 p.m.

Class 4A DeKalb Sectional

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Semifinal 1: No. 1 Hononegah vs. No. 2 South Elgin, 6 p.m.

Semifinal 2: No. 1 Barrington vs. No. 2 Huntley, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 24

Championship: Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2, 7 p.m.