Nazareth's Gracie Carstensen, left, is guarded closely by St. Laurence freshman Sara Burzycki in Thursday's Class 3A regional final game in Burbank. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Hoops Wrap | Four area girls teams take regional titles
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
Four area girls basketball teams won regional championships to advance to sectional action, which was scheduled to start Feb. 21.
Two of those teams will play each other right away.
In Class 3A, Nazareth won the St. Laurence Regional and De La Salle won its own regional, setting up a showdown in the Goode STEM Academy Sectional semifinals.
Nazareth, which finished second in the state in 3A last year, opened the regional with a 2-0 forfeit win over Noble/Comer. The Roadrunners then beat the host Vikings, 73-27, in Burbank on Feb. 16 for the title. Sophomore Olivia Austin led Nazareth with 18 points and senior Gracie Carstensen added 16.
It is Nazareth’s 13th regional title, and fourth since 2018.
De La Salle topped Noble/Johnson 61-41 on Feb. 13 and soundly beat Englewood STEM, 56-18, Feb. 16 to win its fifth title, and third since 2019.
In Class 4A, Lyons Township and Mother McAuley are champs in the regional portion of the Proviso East Sectional.
Lyons opened with a 67-31 victory over Proviso West in the Riverside-Brookfield Regional on Feb. 13 and posted a 56-33 triumph over Hinsdale Central to claim its second regional title in a row and 17th overall. Nora Ezike scored 18 points and Ally Cesarini added 14 in the title game for the Lions.
McAuley beat Proviso East, 58-35, on Feb. 14 and knocked out Argo, 50-34, two days later to win its 30th regional crown. Maeve Egan had 18 points.
SXU coach Robert Ford has a discussion with an official in a victory over Roosevelt on Feb. 15. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Second place for SXU men
Saint Xavier University pulled off a huge Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Roosevelt, 75-65, on Feb. 15 to set up a three-way tie as SXU, Roosevelt and Olivet Nazarene each had 16-3 records in the conference with one game remaining for each.
But the Cougars were derailed from winning the title as they dropped an 85-79 decision to Olivet on Feb. 18 in Bourbonnais. SXU (22-6 overall) entered this week’s CCAC tournament as the second seed, as Roosevelt was upset by Governors State.
Jack Halverson and TJ Babikir each had 16 points for SXU against Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s Maurice Commander, who played at Marist for three years, had 23 points. The Lakers are coached by first-year head coach Dee Brown, who played at Illinois.
Big finish for Lyons
Because preliminary rounds of the IHSA boys basketball regionals were Feb. 18, many teams took the next night off and the schedule was abbreviated.
But Lyons held its blackout game and the Lions beat Lake Park, 52-46, in front of a packed house in LaGrange.
Niklas Polonowski had 17 points for the winners.
Local News
Aldermen push back on mayor’s school board appointments and budget strategy
A new City Hall dispute emerged on Oct. 7 as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointment of six temporary Chicago school board members drew criticism for bypassing City Council involvement. In response to the mayor’s appointments, Aldermen Raymond Lopez (15th), Marty Quinn (13th), and Silvana Tabares (23rd) reacted negatively to the mayor’s plan to fund Chicago’s public…
FOP officials share Chicago policing concerns with UBAM
Two Fraternal Order of Police officials from Clearing shared insights about law enforcement at the state and local level at the Oct. 9 United Business Association of Midway meeting. Tamara Cummings, general counsel for the Illinois FOP, and John Catanzara, president of the Chicago FOP (Lodge 7)—former classmates at St. Rene School—were the guest speakers…
Chicago Sky, Bedford Park break ground on $38 million practice facility
It was a groundbreaking event on Oct. 9, as more than 200 people gathered at the future site of Phase 2 of the Wintrust Sports Complex at 65th Street and Central Avenue in Bedford Park. The Chicago Sky, in partnership with the Village of Bedford Park, broke ground on a new $38 million state-of-the-art practice…
Final repair cafe of the year Oct. 19 for Lyons Township
The Township of Lyons will host its final repair café of the year from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the township hall, 6404 Joliet Road. You can bring a wide range of household items in for repairs free of charge, Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg said during the township board meeting Oct.…
Forest View loses 2 officials in sudden resignations, mayor ‘saddened’
On Oct. 8, the Forest View village board meeting took a surprising turn when two key officials resigned during a portion of the meeting that was closed to the public. Forest View Administrator Michael Dropka submitted his resignation to trustees who met behind closed doors to discuss an “employee personnel matter,” according to the meeting…
Community, officials rally for new Southwest Side police district
Neighborhood residents and local officials supporting the division of the Chicago Lawn (8th) District came out in force for a rally Saturday outside the former National Guard Armory at Midway Airport, which they hope will house a new police station. Police directed traffic as large crowds crossed 63rd Street to attend the 11 a.m. gathering…
Football notebook: Marko Franco gives Back of the Yards a boost
Mark Morgan had a plan when he took over as Back of the Yards football coach in the fall of 2021. The Bobcats hadn’t fielded a team in two years, skipping the spring 2021 pandemic season. Getting the program back on its feet took some heavy lifting. Back of the Yards went 1-7 and 2-7…
Postseason roundup: Nazareth boys, girls both advance to state golf
Nazareth boys golf coach Dave Reed didn’t see this coming. A sectional championship? That happened only twice in school history, in 2009 and 2013. Plus, the Roadrunners had not qualified for state as a team since 2019. Heading into this season, there were no sectional expectations. During regional play, the Roadrunners grabbed the last sectional…
Area sports report: SXU football dominates Defiance
St. Xavier’s football team fell to a season-low 20th place in the NAIA national rankings and has a long climb to get back into the top 10 again. The Cougars took the first step on the first play of their Oct. 12 game as Mario Price took the opening kickoff and ran 77 yards. He…
Pro soccer report: Red Stars clinch playoff spot; Fire names new coach
If the Red Stars had their choice, they would rather have beaten Gotham on Sept. 12 to secure a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs. Instead, the Red Stars suffered a 2-0 loss to the defending NWSL champions at SeatGeek Stadium, and 24 hours later clinched a spot in the playoffs when Washington…
Neighbors
Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation…
High court: Smell of burnt cannabis is not cause for warrantless vehicle search
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a vehicle without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision was unanimous, though Justice Lisa Holder White did not take part in it. Writing for the court,…
State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has…
Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms…
Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had agreed to a…
State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in actor Jussie Smollett’s appeal to overturn his conviction on disorderly conduct charges for falsifying a hate crime. Smollett, who was an actor on the TV show “Empire,” was improperly charged with the same crime twice, his legal team…
Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer…
Contractor’s unsecured databases exposed sensitive voter data in over a dozen Illinois counties
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Around 4.6 million records associated with Illinoisans in over a dozen counties – including voting records, registrations and death certificates – were temporarily available on the open internet, according to a security researcher who identified the vulnerability in July. The documents were available through an unsecured cloud storage…
Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois…
Trial begins in challenge to assault weapons ban
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – The owner of a gun store testified Monday that Illinois’ ban on the sale of assault-style weapons and large capacity magazines has had a significant impact on his business and prevented his customers from buying items they would normally use for self-defense, hunting, target…
