Girls basketball postseason storylines to watch in McHenry County

The girls basketball playoffs tip off Saturday with first-round games in Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. Here are key storylines to watch and additional notes from the Northwest Herald area.

What will undefeated Huntley do?

If Huntley wins its final Fox Valley Conference game Friday, the Red Raiders (30-0) will enter the playoffs with their most wins in program history. Huntley’s previous high for wins in a season was 30 in 2016, when the Raiders won their third sectional title in four seasons.

Led by seniors Anna Campanelli, a Kent State commit, Paula Strzelecki and Ava McFadden, the Raiders earned the top seed in subsectional B of the Class 4A Huntley Sectional. Huntley missed out on a regional championship last year, losing to Guilford 33-32 on two late free throws. The Raiders would face No. 4 seed Auburn in the Jefferson Regional final this year if the seedings hold.

Huntley last won a sectional crown in 2016 and has been to state once before (Class 4A fourth-place in 2013). This year’s team is looking to make school history.

How will Marian Central respond to a tough draw?

Marian Central had one of longest playoff runs among McHenry County teams last year and played in arguably the most exciting game: a 73-68 win over Byron in double overtime to claim the Class 2A Rockford Christian Regional title – with now senior Juliette Huff hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first OT.

This year’s group had an up-and-down season, but still finished the regular season above .500 at 16-15. The Hurricanes drew a No. 7 seed in the Rock Falls Sectional and will host No. 12 Rosary in a Class 2A Aurora Central Catholic Regional first-round game Saturday. If seedings hold, Marian would meet third-seeded Aurora Central Catholic in the semifinals and second-seeded Byron in the regional championship.

How many regional champs will represent McHenry County?

Last year saw only three teams in the Northwest Herald area win a regional championship: Marian Central (2A), Crystal Lake Central (3A) and Cary-Grove (3A).

Marian currently own the area’s longest regional title streak at two. Last year Crystal Lake Central Central won its first regional championship since 2019, and C-G won its first since 2018.

In the FVC, Burlington Central had a four-year regional title streak snapped last year. Crystal Lake South hasn’t won a regional title since 2016, Dundee-Crown since 2020, Hampshire since 2012, Huntley since 2023, Jacobs since 2008, McHenry since 2018 and Prairie Ridge since 2022.

In the Kishwaukee River Conference, Harvard hasn’t won a regional championship since 1997, Johnsburg since 2022, Marengo since 2019, Richmond-Burton since 1994 and Woodstock since 2015. Woodstock North has never won a regional title.

Alden-Hebron, which will compete in Class 1A, hasn’t won a regional championship since 2018.

Who will win Player of the Year?

Huntley’s Campanelli is the frontrunner for 2025 Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year as teams enter the playoffs. The four-year varsity player is putting up her best season yet as the leader of the four-time defending Fox Valley Conference champions. Campanelli scored a career-high 32 points in a game earlier this season and is a difference-maker on both ends of the court.

Crystal Lake Central junior wing Ruby Macke has put up big numbers and is averaging about 20 points a game for the Tigers. Macke set what coach Joe Capalbo believes is a school record when she scored 43 points in a crosstown win over Prairie Ridge.

Katie Hamill, a 2024 graduate of Central, won last year’s Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.

Cary-Grove senior forward Ellie Mjaanes, a Lehigh commit, has led the Trojans to back-to-back, 20-win seasons and on the verge of a second-place finish in the FVC, with their only conference losses to Huntley. The Trojans will host a 3A regional and will go for their second regional title in a row.

Leaving a lagacy: Marian Central’s Huff, Abbey Miner and Adriana Wrzos have gone through highs and lows throughout their four-year varsity careers. As freshmen in 2022, the Hurricanes stumbled to a 5-20 record in their final season in the tough East Suburban Catholic Conference.

As sophomores, those Hurricanes won a program-record 25 games and a Class 2A regional crown. They followed that up as juniors with a program-record 27 wins, a Chicagoland Christian Conference Tournament championship and another regional title.

With a 16-15 record entering the postseason, Huff, Miner and Wrzos have cemented themselves as the winningest class of players in school history with 73.

The trio of stars can add to the total when the No. 7-seeded Hurricanes host No. 10 Rosary at 3 p.m. Saturday in a Class 2A Aurora Central Catholic Regional first-round game.

“Honestly, we don’t look to much at the stats or records when we play,” said Wrzos, who was selected to the All-CCC team, along with Huff and Miner. “We just go out and play because we love to. Hearing about all the records is amazing, but we’re not trying to do that. We just play for each other.”

“I never really realized the impact we’ve had until this year with all those records and stats,” said Miner, who will graduate with the second-most assists in program history. “It’s crazy to think about that. The seniors that graduated last year were a huge part of that too.”

Mazzola sets rebounding record: Richmond-Burton junior Daniella Mazzola broke the Rockets' single-season rebounding record last week in a 49-29 loss to Marengo. Through the Marengo game, Mazzola has 232 rebounds this winter, breaking the previous record by Hailey Schleibinger of 228 in 2008-09.

Mazzola’s single-game high for rebounds is 16, three away from the most in a game set by Melanie Wagner in 2018-19. The team’s all-time rebounding record is held by Schleibinger with 557. Mazzola should easily pass that, as she has 491 as of Feb. 7.

“Her dedication to Richmond-Burton girls basketball is unmatched and has paid off with her achieving this record,” Rockets coach Stephanie Oslovich said.