Hoops Wrap | Oak Lawn girls win third straight conference championship

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

It couldn’t have been scripted much better than this.

Two neighborhood rivals, both with 8-4 records in the South Suburban Red, went to battle on Feb. 7 with the girls basketball conference title on the line, and the Spartans earned their third straight Red title by knocking off the Bulldogs, 45-25.

Oak Lawn has been riding a rollercoaster all season and was 14-15 after the triumph.

The Spartans lost their tops two scorers from last season — one to graduation and another to an injury — so a third conference crown was far from a guarantee for Mark Sevedge and his troops.

Some of the  players who made the three-peat a reality were senior Rose Savaglio, junior Maeve Hassett plus sophomores Jacky Canales, Danielle Dempsey, Teagan Krzystof, Lamia Quinones, Annie McGrath, Kaitlyn Berkery and Sinead Conroy.

Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello fires up his team against Evergreen Park Friday night. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Home sweet again for Shepard

Shepard’s boys basketball team entered this week with a 14-15 record but prior to last week’s action had a 1-9 record at home.

That changed with a trio of victories in Palos Heights.

The Astros won their second home game on Feb. 8 with an epic 91-62 victory over EPIC Academy in a non-conference game. It was a season-high point total for the Astros as Jermell Lymon scored 18 points, Tyrion McGhee had 16 and Payton Crims 13.

Two nights later, they knocked off South Suburban Red foe Evergreen Park, 78-66 as Lymon had a career-high 29 points while Crims added 15 and Kylan Rogers 10.

The Astros finished their three-game-in-four-day stretch on Saturday with a 63-30 triumph over Universal with Crims scoring 11 and Lymon 10.

The Astros were gunning for finishing above .500 heading into the postseason as they had a road game at Kennedy Tuesday and a home game with Southland on Wednesday scheduled.

Boys seeds announced
If the sectional seeds hold true in boys basketball, there could be some tremendous games in the coming weeks.

As far as area teams go, the hottest of the hot spots will be at St. Rita in Class 4A.

Kenwood picked up the first seed in the 18-team tournament followed by Brother Rice, St. Rita and Marist at two through four.

Oak Lawn grabbed the eighth seed, Stagg the 12^th, Sandburg the 13^th, Shepard the 16^th, Reavis the 17^th and Hubbard the 18^th.

At the 18-team Hinsdale Central Sectional, Curie drew the third seed, while Lyons is fifth, Riverside-Brookfield is seventh, Morton is 12^th, Argo is 16^th and Kelly is 18^th. Whitney Young earned the top seed.

In Class 3A, De La Salle picked up the top seed in its own 17-team sectional.

At the 16-team Glenbard South Sectional, Mount Carmel drew the second seed behind Simeon while St. Laurence was seeded fourth.

Bogan is seeded seventh, Kennedy eighth, Nazareth ninth, Goode STEM 12^th and Solorio 16^th.

In Class 2A at the Julian Sectional, Catalyst/Maria was third in the 12-team Sub-Sectional A division. Phillips drew the No. 1 seed. Chicago Christian was 11^th in the 13-team Sub-Sectional B bracket. Perspectives/Leadership drew the top seed.

Regional quarterfinals start Saturday with the semifinals slated for Wednesday.

So many milestones
Scoring 1,000 career points in high school basketball is not easy, but area players are making it look so.

Brother Rice’s Ahmad Henderson, Mount Carmel’s Deandre Craig, Reavis’s Isabel Lopez and St. Rita’s Morez Johnson are the latest to hit that mark in recent weeks.