• Emma Benoit - Hampshire

• Jamie Netzley - Wheaton Academy (tournament leading scorer)

 Guerin Prep Holiday Tournament:

• Maddy Versluys - Westminster Christian (tournament leading scorer)

 Other notable Holiday performances:

• Kayla Ross - Burlington Central. Great defense and leadership from the PG position throughout the DC tournament.

• Jackie Collins - Burlington Central. Great defense and solid guard play with no turnovers vs. New Trier.

• Becca Gerke- Burlington Central post held SCN opposing post player to 1pt.

• Kristina Ahlers - Burlington Central. Soph guard played well in extended minutes vs. Bartlett and had a couple of highlight level defensive plays vs. Stevenson.

• Kyla Helsel - SCN. Led the fast break, finished well at the basket for SCN vs. Hononegah. Steady leadership and defense vs. Buffalo Grove.

• Sam Novak - SCN. Stepped up when her teammate was injured and played very well vs. Burlington Central and Hononegah.

• Morgan Clausen - Huntley. Second leading scorer and leading rebounder for the Red Raiders going 3-1 at Montini Christmas.

• Taylor Brown - Kenwood Academy. Solid all-around play for the frosh leader in wins over South Elgin and Geneva at Montini.

• Hannah Vitkus - SCE with 12pts, 7 steals, & 7 rebounds in the Saints win over Wheaton North at the Falcon Holiday Classic.

 Ms. Clutch Award:

• Ashling Davern - SCN. Makes both free throws as time expires to force overtime vs. Buffalo Grove.

• Morgan Clausen - Huntley. Makes the go-ahead free throw with 1:17 remaining to give her team the lead then makes two more in the final seconds to seal the 47-44 win over Neuqua Valley.

 OMG Award:

• Maddy Versluys - Westminster Christian. Outscores the other team at Guerin Holiday.

Her stat line: 18 4-5 42
Final score: WM 57 Chicago Acad.40

IHD Players Continue to Impact Local HS Programs

Illinois Hoop Dreams was founded as an organization dedicated to providing a positive teaching environment for girls that had both the desire and talent to become great student-athletes and to raise the collective level of girls basketball in the greater Fox Valley area.

What started as a club with 2 middle school-aged teams made up primarily of players that would be attending 3 or 4 local high schools, has grown into one the premier AAU clubs in the State of Illinois with competitive teams at every level and players attending nearly 20 different high schools and dozens of grammar and middle schools.
Having just passed the half-way point in the HS season, and with a little over a month remaining before the start of the IHSA state play-offs, IHD players continue to excel at all levels with several varsity players on track to receive All-Conference and All-Area recognition at this season’s conclusion.

The passion, skill, and leadership that the players continue to demonstrate on the court has dramatically raised the overall level of play in the area and several high school programs and HS coaches are the direct beneficiaries of these efforts, with many now considered to be among the best in suburban Chicago.

So many IHD trained players are mentioned in the local newspapers on an almost daily basis, that it would be too difficult to name them all without possibly forgetting someone, so instead, we would like to commend all of the girls for their outstanding efforts so far this season, and to acknowledge their parents for continuing to support their daughter’s Hoop Dreams.

2013 Hoops for Hope Mother’s Day Saturday

IHD’s second annual Hoops for Hope Saturday will be on Mother’s Day weekend. We are asking all players (moms too!) to purchase and wear t-shirts on 5/11/13 as a show of support for the women among us that are dealing with the challenging effects of cancer. While the survival rate has increased over the years thanks to education, early detection, and other proactive activities, there is still much work to be done and funding research is the key to ultimately finding a cure.

We had 100% player participation in our inaugural event t last season and would like to continue that tradition and hope that we can count on your support. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts this year will be donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Coach Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. Before her death, she joined forces with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and The V Foundation for Cancer Research to form the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the under-served, and unifying people for a common cause.

Since the Fund’s inception, $8 million has been raised and $2.5 million has been granted for scientific research and related programs focused on women’s cancers thanks to the generosity and continued support of donors. However, there’s still much more progress to be made in the scientific community in regards to cancer research.

Please help us support the Kay Yow Fund. T-shirts are only $15 (about the same price we all pay for those Nike Elite socks....but for a much better cause) and will be delivered to practices next week.
We’d also love to see parents participating in our Hoops for Hope/Pink Zone day!

JV Dominates at Windy City Classic
Our JV girls had a great weekend at the USJN Windy City Classic and the future is very bright for this group of 8th graders. In the first national-level exposure event for most of the players, they did not disappoint as they continue to develop while playing an aggressive, read and react style game. Inspired team defense, executing the offensive sets, and taking advantage of our team speed to capitalize on opportunities in transition were all keys to success.
The team went 3-0 in pool play and advanced to the championship bracket with convincing wins over IL Connections, KS Eclipse, and the Cincinnati Lady Tigers despite missing two of our key contributors.

The backcourt duo of Maddie Spagnola and Marlee Kyles proved to be a lethal combination for the opposition as each player was consistently dominant throughout the tournament in addition to having runs in particular games where they were absolutely spectacular. Mackie Kelleher, Morgan Clausen, and Lauren Woelffer also played key roles and made significant contributions on the defensive end.

Missing a third key player on Sunday morning, the team ultimately lost a close 2 point game in the tournament semi-finals to the IN Jewells to finish the weekend at 3-1. Although disappointed to fall just sort of their goal of playing for the championship, the girls had a great experience and are already looking forward to taking the next step at the USJN event at U of I in Urbana in May.

USJN All-Star Team Selections: (selected by opposing coaches)
13u
Maddie Spagnola
15u
Becca Gerke
Shelby Holt
16u
Victoria Patterson
CeCe Rapp

Great Season Opening Saturday!
All of our teams opened their 2013 spring AAU seasons with games on April 13 with very encouraging results. The 5th graders played three games and got a nice win in the first ever AAU experience for the girls, while the 6th Black, 6th White, and 7th teams each finished in second place in their respective tournaments with each compiling 2-1 records for the day.

The HS teams opened their seasons at the Lady Fire Spring Shootout for the second consecutive year and IHD had another impressive showing with the three teams combining to win 8 of 9 games. JV and Varsity 15 were both 3-0 for the day and Varsity 16 was 2-1 with their only loss coming in the final game of the night. Considering that most of the girls on the team spent Saturday morning taking the ACT test, it’s amazing that they weren’t completely exhausted much sooner in the day. A great effort by all!

Saturday MVP Awards:
5th - Elana Wells
6th Black - Sydney Gratz
6th White - Brooke Cambra
7th - Kate Majerus
JV - Maddie Spagnola, Kristina Ahlers
V15 - Emma Benoit, Sam Cruz
V16 – Tori Patterson, CeCe Rapp