Bella Bullington helped make sure the Unstoppables were stopped.
The Marist senior volleyball star closed out the high-school portion of her career representing the RedHawks in the the Under Armour Next All-America match as a member of Team Icon. She helped her team edge Team Unstoppable 25-19, 25-16, 15-25, 21-25, 15-13 on Jan. 1 in Orlando.
The Northwestern commit played in four of the five sets and started in two of them. She had two kills and added two of the team’s serving aces. She also added seven serve receptions and three digs in the topsy-turvy match, which was broadcast on ESPNU.
It ended a wild senior season during which she missed several games early with an injury and eventually put up 16 kills to go with nine digs, three blocks and two aces in a19-25, 25-16, 25-19 upset over Benet in the IHSA Class 4A state championship.
She had six kills in the deciding third set and put down the match-winning kill.
“It’s something you dream about as a little kid — to get the final point to win the state championship,” she said after the title match.
Bullington had 255 kills, 201 digs, 41 aces and 38 blocks for the RedHawks this season.
The Under Armour event featured 26 players from all over the nation. Bullington, Timothy Christian’s Abby Vander Wal and Benet’s Aniya Warren represented Illinois in the showcase.
College hoops heating up
St. Xavier’s men’s basketball team closed the 2024 portion of its schedule with a couple of wild games at the St. Francis New Year’s Classic in Joliet.
In the first round on Dec. 30, the team won 119-108 over McPherson, scoring 82 points in the second half after trailing 52-37 at the break. Andre Brandon had 27 points for SXU.
On day two, the Cougars (9-4) fell 94-93 to Goshen, losing on a layup with two seconds left. Deontrae Warren, who had a stint at Daley College, led the Cougars with 17 points.
Overall, the area college basketball scene had its ups and downs heading into the new year.
St. Xavier’s women entered 2005 with an 8-5 mark and won five of their last six games.
At Trinity Christian, the men closed 2024 at 5-8. But one of those triumphs was a 94-92 stunner over St. Xavier on Dec. 14 for the Trolls’ first win in the Shannon Center.
The Trolls women are trying to find their footing as they entered 2025 with an 0-12 mark. But the Trolls did give St. Francis a scare in a 74-70 overtime loss in Palos Heights. St. Francis was 7-1 at the time.
On the junior-college level, Morton’s men’s team was 6-7 and one of those victories was an 82-72 win at Milwaukee Area Tech on Nov. 25. It was the Panthers’ first win over Milwaukee since 2016. Kevin Cathey had a career-high 24 points in the game.
The women, who recently have been a national power, have fallen on hard times, going 0-4 and being outscored 298-53 in those games.
Moraine Valley’s men had a 5-9 record but boast NJCAA Division II’s top shot blocker in sophomore forward Amarion Johnson, who had 46.
The Cyclones women were 6-7 but have scored 93 or more points in three games.
Daley College’s men were 1-13 with their lone victory coming against Harper, 69-65, on Dec. 5.
Daley’s women closed 2024 at 3-9.