The Herald-News Girls Basketball Notebook: Joliet-area teams hoping to finish the season strong

A common theme among area high school girls basketball coaches is that it is a long season, and a rough start doesn’t necessarily mean that the year will end that way.

“The season is a marathon, not a sprint,” first-year Plainfield North coach Brittany McWaine said after her team picked up a 57-51 win over rival Plainfield South last week. “That’s a good way to put it.

“We have been working hard all season, and now we want to finish it strong this last month or so.”

That win brought the Tigers' record to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the Southwest Prairie Conference.

Her counterpart in that contest, South’s Alana Warren, echoed the sentiment.

“We lost quite a bit from last year,” Warren said. “We are working to come together as a team on the floor, and we are getting there. One thing that I never have to worry about with this team is that they will play with a lot of heart.

“I don’t ever have to ask these girls for heart or effort. Knowing they have that, now we can work on boosting our skills and finishing the season strong.”

Hot starts

There are a few teams in the area that have gotten off to strong starts, and they hope to keep it going the rest of the way.

The lone area team ranked in the latest AP poll is Morris, which sports a 16-2 record behind the sister combination of Landrie and Layken Callahan. Morris is tied for 12th in Class 3A. However, voters may be overlooking 4A teams such as Lockport (18-3), Lincoln-Way West (14-5) and Bolingbrook (11-7) and Class 2A squads Coal City (13-5) and Seneca (14-5).

Postseason assignments

The IHSA has released postseason assignments for girls basketball, although the seeding will be done at a later date.

Class 4A

Bolingbrook Sectional: Bolingbrook, Plainfield Central, Plainfield East, Plainfield North and Plainfield South will compete in the 18-team sectional, with regionals being hosted by Plainfield North, Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley and Benet.

Alton Sectional: Minooka will play in Subsectional B in the 16-team sectional. Regional hosts in the Subsectional will be Normal West and Rock Island.

TBD Sectional: The sectional host has yet to be determined in the 18-team sectional, but Joliet Central, Joliet West, Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Lockport and Romeoville will compete in it. Regional hosts are Lincoln-Way East, Joliet West, Lockport and Marist.

Class 3A

Ottawa Sectional: Morris is in Subsectional B in the 18-team sectional, with regional hosts being Kankakee and Washington.

Chicago Heights Marian Sectional: Lemont and Providence Catholic will take part in the 16-team sectional. Regional hosts are Providence Catholic, Hillcrest, TF North and Thornton.

CLASS 2A

Herscher Sectional: All of the area’s Class 2A teams will compete in the 23-team sectional and all are part of Subsectional B. The list includes Reed-Custer, Coal City, Joliet Catholic Academy, Peotone, Seneca and Wilmington. Regional hosts are Beecher and Coal City.

CLASS 1A

Midland Sectional: Dwight will host a regional in Subsectional B of the 24-team sectional.

Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional: Gardner-South Wilmington will compete in Subsectional B of the 24-team sectional. Regional hosts are St. Bede and Indian Creek.