Five Sauk Valley girls basketball storylines to watch this postseason

The IHSA girls basketball postseason kicks off this Saturday with the Sauk Valley area featuring teams playing in Class 1A, 2A and 3A. Here are five notable local storylines.

How will Sterling fare after winning the Western Big 6 Conference?

In its sixth year of playing in the Western Big 6, Sterling went 12-1 and won its first league title. Winning it outright took pulling off close games, winning buzzer-beaters against Alleman and Quincy and going over two months without a Big 6 loss. After a 47-34 setback on Nov. 26 at Galesburg to open Big 6 play, Sterling won 12 straight games in the historically strong conference.

The Golden Warriors are ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press Class 3A rankings, a No. 1 seed and a regional host. Sterling opens regional play at 6 p.m. Monday against Rochelle.

Led by 6-foot-3 Illinois State recruit Madison Austin and a quick pack of guards not afraid to run or launch 3-pointers, Sterling is looking for its first regional title since 2019. The breakout Warriors last won a sectional championship in 2007. They last reached a sectional final in 2013.

Can Dixon make another run?

Last season, the Duchesses made an impressive run all the way to the Elite Eight as a No. 3 seed. They won their first regional championship since 2002-03 and their first sectional crown since back-to-back titles in 1988-89 and 1989-90. They lost just three players to graduation.

Can they do it again?

Dixon shared the Big Northern Conference title with Stillman Valley and Byron and will enter the postseason ranked No. 7 in the final AP Class 3A poll. Dixon played Stillman tough and fell just short in a 38-34 loss in the BNC finale.

The Duchesses are a No. 2 seed in the Rockford Boylan Sectional and start play at the Freeport Regional; Kaneland, which the Duchesses beat 47-38 on Dec. 2, is the No. 1 seed opposite Dixon in the sectional.

Defense is key for Dixon. The Duchesses have scored more than 50 points just 11 times this season. They are 11-0 in those games.

There is also potential for a Dixon versus Sterling matchup for the Rockford Boylan Sectional title on Feb. 27 if both teams make it that far.

Sterling beat Dixon 44-18 earlier this season to take third at Dixon’s Holiday Classic in late December.

With both teams looking to continue great regular seasons, it should make for an especially interesting bracket to follow this postseason.

Young Newman Central Catholic seeded third in 1A

Featuring just nine players on the varsity roster and only one senior in Helen Papoccia, the Comets have not let their youth be a factor. After Sterling and Dixon, the third-seeded Comets are the highest seeded team in the Sauk Valley area this postseason.

Freshman Gisselle Martin is probably the team’s best player. Sophomore Brooklyn Smith has proven herself to be a shooter that can get hot from 3-point range.

If the Comets are clicking, watch out.

Newman hosts Forreston at 1 p.m. on Saturday to open the postseason and would advance to the Class 1A Forreston Regional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday against Eastland or Milledgeville with a win.

Should the Comets win that game, they would face the winner of second-seeded River Ridge and No. 7 Polo/No. 8 Pearl City for the regional title at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The Comets have not won a regional title since 2009. If they make it that far, they will be playing at home as sectional hosts.

Cinderella in Prophetstown?

If a Sauk Valley area team wants to pull off an upset and contend for some postseason hardware, the Class 2A Erie-Prophetstown Regional has opportunities.

Fifth-seeded Oregon and 11th-seeded Rock Falls face off on Saturday in Oregon at 7:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to face third-seeded Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

The regional host and No. 9 seed Panthers face 10th-seeded Morrison at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the winner facing No. 2 seed Riverdale at 6 p.m. on Monday.

The Fillies have been more competitive since the return of Camryn Veltrop, the team’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. The 6-foot-3 post, who came off an injury to help reach the win column, recently eclipsed 1,000 rebounds for her career.

Winning for Morrison likely will come down to who else can step up offensively with Veltrop double- or triple-teamed.

Who will leave Forreston with a regional title?

The Class 1A Forreston Regional features five Sauk Valley area teams: Polo, Newman, Forreston, Eastland and Milledgeville.

The second-seeded River Ridge co-op is the highest seed in the regional with the Comets seeded third. River Ridge faces the winner of Saturday’s 2 p.m. matchup between seventh-seeded Polo and No. 8 Pearl City.

The winner of Newman and No. 13 Forreston will face either sixth-seeded Eastland or 12th-seeded Milledgeville on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Eastland won the NUIC South Conference title with an 11-1 finish and opens the postseason at home against the Missiles on Saturday at 3 p.m.

With four area teams opposite River Ridge’s side in the bracket, a Sauk Valley team is guaranteed to be playing for the Forreston Regional title.