Five Herald-News storylines to watch in the girls basketball postseason

With the girls basketball postseason tipping off Saturday with some play-in games, it’s time to take a look at five of the top storylines in The Herald-News area.

Which 4A team will be the last one standing?

Usually, that question is answered by Bolingbrook. However, the Raiders don’t seem to have the firepower they have had in past years, although they did win the conference championship in their first year in the Southwest Prairie Conference. They are seeded third in the Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional behind Benet Academy and Waubonsie Valley. Benet is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest IHSA AP poll, while Waubonsie Valley is ranked eighth.

The only Herald-News area school in the 4A rankings is Lockport, and the Porters have had a dream season. They enter the postseason with a 26-4 record and won the Southwest Suburban Conference title for the first time since the league was formed in 2005. They are the second seed in the Rich Township Sectional, behind only Marist. In a nonconference matchup earlier this season, Lockport defeated Marist 59-54. If the two should meet in the sectional championship game, the Porters will enter with the knowledge that they have beaten the Red Hawks before.

Another team to watch for is Minooka, which is the second seed in Subsectional B of the Alton Sectional. The Indians play in the Normal West Regional and if they win it, will take on the winner of the Rock Island Regional. Top seed Normal Community is in the Rock Island Regional.

Who will win the Lincoln-Way regional?

The Lincoln-Way East Regional, which feeds into the Rich Township Sectional. Of the four teams in the regional, three are District 210 schools - Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West. The outlier is Shepard, which takes on Lincoln-Way West in the semifinals on Monday. The other semifinal features Lincoln-Way East vs. Lincoln-Way Central, meaning that at least one Lincoln-Way team is guaranteed to be in the regional title game. Given the familiarity of both the athletes and coaching staffs, it’s almost certain that the title game will be a close, hard-fought affair.

Lincoln-Way West is the highest seed at No. 3, with East seeded sixth and Central 13th. And, whichever team wins the regional gets to take on the winner of the Lockport Regional in the sectional semifinals.

What about the area’s 3A teams?

Morris, Providence Catholic and Lemont will compete in Class 3A, and both Morris and Providence have earned high seeds. Morris, currently ranked 11th in the latest AP poll, is seeded third in the Ottawa Sectional, but has a tough draw. If Morris beats fifth-seeded Bloomington in the semifinals of the Washington Regional, they will most likely have to play Washington in the title game. Washington is 30-1 and ranked No. 1 in the latest AP poll.

Providence, meanwhile, is seeded second in the Marian Catholic Sectional and gets to host its own regional. The Celtics, which recently won their 20th game for just the seventh time in school history, take on 15th-seeded Thornridge in the semifinals and, if they win, will play the winner of seventh-seeded Oak Forest and 10th-seeded Morgan Park in the title game.

Lemont is also in the Marian Catholic Sectional and is seeded sixth. They play 11th-seeded Chicago Brooks in the semifinals of the TF North Regional and with a win would take on the winner of No. 3 seed TF North and 14th-seeded Tinley Park. The Providence and TF North Regional winners will play in the semifinals of the Marian Catholic Sectional.

Who will be tops in Class 2A?

All of the area’s Class 2A teams will play in the Herscher Sectional.

In the Coal City Regional in Subsectional B, 10th-seeded Peotone and No. 7 Reed-Custer will play in Saturday’s play-in game, with the winner advancing to play top-seeded Coal City in the semifinals. In the other semifinal game, No. 4 Joliet Catholic Academy will take on No. 5 Wilmington.

Also in Subsectional B, No. 2 seed Seneca will play the winner of No. 8 Beecher and No. 9 Momence in the Beecher Regional semifinals. In the same regional, No. 3 Manteno will play the winner of No. 10 Southland College Prep and No. 6 Chicago Christian.

Who will end up as Player of the Year?

There are several quality candidates for Herald-News Player of the Year. Morris junior Landrie Callahan has put up ridiculous numbers all season, as evidenced by the 35 points and 19 rebounds she had in Monday’s win over Sycamore. Another junior, Minooka’s Madelyn Kiper, has also put up some eye-popping numbers, including a game against Joliet West that saw her score a school-record 41 points, set a school record with nine 3-pointers and notch her 1,000th career point.

Another name to watch in the Player of the Year race is Lockport’s Lucy Hynes. Hynes didn’t play for the Porters last season and they finished with 13 wins. With her in the lineup this season, they have doubled that number and won their first conference title since 1985-86.