Local Sports Notebook: Four area girls teams headed to Hoopsfest

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

Four area girls basketball teams will participate in the 32^nd running of the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest.

This year’s tournament, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, takes place Saturday at Montini High School and Monday at Benet Academy.

Sandburg is scheduled to play Downers Grove North in the 12:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Marist is scheduled to face off with York at 6:30 p.m. and Argo is scheduled to battle Plainfield North at 8 p.m.

In Monday’s action, Mother McAuley is scheduled to face Wheaton North at 2:30 p.m.

The tournament is run by Jim O’Boye, the longtime football public address announcer at St. Rita.

An honor and a loss

Former longtime Marist basketball coach and player Gene Nolan brought his new team, Naperville North, back to his old stomping ground.

Before the game, he was honored with having his No. 22 jersey retired.

During the game, however, the RedHawks were not as kind. Marist, coached by Nolan’s former assistant Brian Hynes, pulled off a 49-43 victory. Xavier Sulaiman led with 17 points and Kaden White scored 13.

Nolan coached at Marist for 18 seasons and racked up a 330-193 record.

U can watch Red Stars

The Chicago Red Stars will be on local TV in 2022.

The team has entered a partnership with Univision Chicago and select games will be broadcast under the “U” umbrella of WMEU (Channel 48.1) and WCIU (Channel 26.2).

“The Red Stars are thrilled to partner with Weigel Broadcasting Co. and Univision to bring the amazing talents of our world-class players into more Chicagoland homes,” said Vicky Lynch, chief business officer of the Red Stars. “Giving this increased access to our fans has been a priority for us, so we are delighted to deliver this to them.

“These broadcasts will also elevate the club in the eyes of future corporate partners, leading more brands to join us in leveling the playing field for our players.”

Following the reception of Univision Chicago’s broadcast of last season’s Red Stars match against Portland, the Spanish-language media company decided to continue their partnership with the team into 2022.

“Both of our organizations share some common values like diversity and inclusion, women’s empowerment, as well as children and family,” said Doug Levy, president and general manager of Univision Chicago. “We love the way this team plays to win, and we are optimistic about our future together. We look forward to working together with the Chicago Red Stars to bring our audiences and our communities some of the most exciting soccer action in Chicago.”

Weigel Broadcasting, the parent company of Univision, also broadcasts Chicago Sky games.

The TV schedule will be announced after the NWSL announces its schedule.

The U is seen on Xfinity 230|360, RCN 610, WOW 170, Dish 48, Spectrum Charter 191 and U-Verse 24.

Stagg-ering weekend

Stagg enjoyed a banner weekend in sports as the Chargers’ Laila Barakat became the fourth girls basketball player in school history to hit the 1,000-point mark, doing so in a 67-40 victory over Richards.

That came a day after the boys team upended Lockport, 51-48, in a road SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover game. Alex Vassilakis led the Chargers (5-8) with 14 points and Alex Gamboa added 12.  Lockport fell to 8-5.