2018 State Farm Holiday Classic Preview: Large bracket

The State Farm Holiday Classic has become the premier girls basketball tournament in Illinois and the large-school bracket may be the best field yet. This year's field featuring teams with Class 3A and 4A enrollments is loaded. It will feature out-of-state competition with the addition of Union Ryle (KY) High School, which is seeded second in the bracket. The tournament's top seed is the defending Class 3A champions Richwoods (12-0), which suffered its only loss at last year's Classic to Normal Community - which it beat twice in the regular season. Morton (12-1) is the third seed and its only three losses dating back to Jan. 20, 2017 are to Richwoods, including 64-61 in double overtime this season. Let's meet this year's field. <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>The Favorites</strong></span> <strong>1. Richwoods (16-0)</strong> The Knights finished third in last year's event with their lone loss on the season proving to be a driving force in their state championship run. They are coming off a Sterling Tournament championship win over Rockton Honenegah, 64-56. <strong>Marquette recruit Camryn Taylor</strong> <strong>(2019) </strong>leads the core quartet of players that make this team go. At 6-foot-2, she is a dominant force in the post on both ends of the court. <strong>Jaida McCloud (2020)</strong> has several mid-major offers and, at 6-2, is a mismatch in high school, agile enough to play guard and long enough to play in the post. <strong>Tianna Johnson (2019)</strong> is the glue that holds it all together. She is an all-around great player that is unselfish, knows when players are going to hit their spots and is a tenacious rebounder. <strong>Nia Williams (2020) </strong>noticeable improvement with her ball-handling and expanding her range has improved her offensive attack. The 5-foot-7 guard is long and quick, making life difficult on opposing guards at the top of the 2-3 zone. <strong>2. Ryle (9-0)</strong> The Raiders reached Kentucky's Elite Eight in 2018, their furthest finish in program history in the one-class system. Ryle is led by a pair of 1,000-point scorers in <strong>Rice recruit Lauren Schwartz (2019)</strong> and <a href="http://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/228896/maddie-scherr">ESPNW's</a> 25th-ranked play in <strong>2020, Maddie Scherr</strong>. Schwartz enters averaging 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.8 steals per game on the season. Scherr is scoring 13.5 points, grabbing 6.9 rebounds, dishing 4.4 assists and swiping 4.3 steals per game. <strong>Brie Crittendon (2021)</strong> is a third guard scoring in double figures at 12.8 points per game. Ryle is scoring 70.1 points per game and shoots it well from 3-point range, connecting on 36 percent of shots. Schwartz (40 percent), Crittendon (42 percent) and Scherr (47 percent) lead the team from the perimeter. <strong>3. Morton (12-1)</strong> The Potters reached last year's Sweet Sixteen in Class 3A, where they suffered their first postseason loss in three years. Doing the math, they won the previous three state titles before losing to last year's eventual-champion in Richwoods. However, for the first time Morton won last year's State Farm Classic. <strong>Butler signee Tenley Dowell (2019)</strong> leads a balanced scoring attack with 14.5 points per game and leads the team with 29 deflections. <strong>Alabama-Birmingham recruit Lindsey Dullard (2020)</strong> does a little bit of everything and is a streaky shooter. She averages 10.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 31 percent from 3-point range. <strong>Katie Krupa (2022)</strong> is receiving division-I interest already because of her versatile play, but she is primarily an inside force for Morton. The 6-1 freshman is averaging 8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 62 percent from the field. Morton shoots a lot of 3-pointers and is 75-for-245 (30.6 percent) on the season as a team, led by <strong>Maddy Becker's (2020)</strong> 20-for-54 (37 percent) clip. <strong>Bridget Wood (2019)</strong> is 7-for-17 and <strong>Courtney Jones (2020)</strong> is 6-for-17 in a small sample size. <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>The Challengers</strong></span> <strong>4. Rock Island (12-0)</strong> The Rocks return to the SFHC field and brings the two-time Ms. Basketball winner Brea Beal with them. Beal is ranked 13th nationally by <a href="http://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/212723/breanna-beal">ESPNW</a> and signed with South Carolina earlier this season. She is taking on more of a load <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2018/11/brea-beal-zoned-in-on-senior-season-before-continuing-career-at-south-carolina/">to lead a young Rocks team and is enjoying it</a>. She's scoring 25.6 points per game this season. Another key returning senior is <strong>Carlee Camlin</strong>, a 5-10 forward who signed with Bradley University for volleyball. <strong>Hannah Simmer (2020)</strong> and <strong>Bre Williams (2020)</strong> have also stepped up for Rock Island, which averages 60.4 points per game. <strong>5. Bethalto Civic Memorial (14-0)</strong> Despite having one of the smaller Class 3A enrollments (768 students) in Illinois, Civic Memorial is 74-6 since the start of the 2016-17 season, which is win third-year starter <strong>Anna Hall (2020)</strong> joined the Eagles.The Eagles reached the Elite Eight in Class 3A in 2017. Hall, a 5-11 forward, recently scored a career-high 28 points in a 62-39 win over Jerseyville. She is averaging 16 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. <strong>Kourtland Tyus (2020)</strong> is the other Eagle in double figures, scoring 10.6 points per game and does a little bit of everything, dishing 4.6 assists, swiping 4.3 steals and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game. The Eagles enter the tournament coming off a 42-32 win over Highland. They also have wins over Quincy Notre Dame, Collinsville and Breese Mater Dei. <strong>6. Chicago Simeon (11-4)</strong> Simeon is, perhaps, the top threat to the favorites. Two years removed from a Class 3A third-place finish, the Wolverines are loaded on talent. <strong>Aneesah Morrow (2021)</strong> has returned after undergoing surgery this summer to repair her Anterior Cruciate Ligament, according to assistant Mari Holmes. Morrow is one of the top players in the state and holds scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Marquette and Clemson. Kansas State recruit <strong>Jada Thorpe (2019)</strong> played in the event as a freshman at North Lawndale and returns after playing her sophomore year at Montverde (FL). The 5-8 guard is averaging 9.6 points and 4.1 assists per game. Simeon's leading scorer and rebounder is 6-2 forward <strong>Khaniah Gardner (2021)</strong>, who has offers from Missouri, Illinois, DePaul and Ole Miss. She's averaging 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. <strong>7. St. Ignatius (10-3)</strong> The Wolfpack have battled with the best this season, dropping to Montini (44-42), Nazareth (47-45) and Benet (72-60). St. Ignatius finished fourth in last year's Classic. Returning to lead the Pack is Washington University (MO) recruit <strong>Molly Gannon (2019)</strong>. The quick scorer surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her career earlier this season. John Hopkins recruit <strong>Aleah Spruell (2019)</strong> plays alongside Gannon in the backcourt. <strong>8. Geneseo (13-0)</strong> The Maple Leafs have cruised through its early-season start and is led by 6-foot forward <strong>Hannah Himmelman (2019)</strong>. Geneseo's guards can run with the best as <strong>Josie Brown (2019)</strong> finished 28th in the state cross country meet this year and will run track at Southern Illinois. <strong>Torie Verbeck (2019)</strong> will run track at Wisconsin-Whitewater. <strong>Kammie Ludwig (2022)</strong> is already turning heads with her offensive attack while averaging 10 points per game. The 5-9 freshman guard is receiving major Division-I interest from Bradley University, George Washington and Alabama State, among others. <strong>9. Chicago Kenwood (10-4)</strong> The Broncos have lost to Simeon and St. Ignatius this year but are one of the most talented teams in the state. As a result, they are balanced and have great depth with 12 players averaging double-digit minutes each game. <strong>Brianna McDaniel (2022)</strong> leads the scoring attack at 12.5 points per game. The 5-11 forward already holds offers from Texas A&amp;M, Illinois, Wisconsin, St. Louis, Loyola (IL) and Illinois-Chicago. Missouri-Kansas City recruit <strong>Tamara Nard (2019)</strong> is a 6-3 center averaging 11.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Senior guards <strong>Shania Jackson (Chicago State)</strong> and <strong>Kimeira Burks (Illinois-Chicago)</strong> are each averaging 9 points and 3 rebounds per game, though Jackson has only played in four games. <strong>10. Normal Community (11-5)</strong> The Iron have played a tough schedule to start the season with close losses to Morton and Rock Island while also falling to 4A power Edwardsville. Normal Community has a trio of stars with Evansville-signee <strong>Abby Feit (2019)</strong>, Illinois State recruit <strong>Maya Wong (2020)</strong> and Alabama-Birmingham recruit <strong>Kylee Schneringer (2020)</strong>, though she's out indefinitely with a shoulder injury suffered against Rock Island on Dec. 15 the <a href="https://nchsinkspot.com/sports/2018/12/21/schneringer-out-indefinitely/">student newspaper reports</a>. <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>The Field</strong></span> <strong>11. Normal West (9-3)</strong> The Wildcats are led by returning all-Big 12 pick <strong>Tresoir Newson (2019)</strong>, a 5-8 forward, and 5-4 guard <strong>Olivia Demosthenes (2020)</strong>. Earned a 56-40 win over Normal Community at the Intercity Tournament. <strong>12. Springfield (11-3)</strong> The Senators had a 10-game winning streak snapped by O'Fallon, 53-46, on Dec. 15. Springfield is led by returning Central State 8 all-conference pick <strong>Abby Ratsch (2019)</strong>, a 6-foot forward. <strong>13. Bloomington (5-7)</strong> The Purple Raiders returned three starters this year including twins <strong>Bree (2019)</strong> and <strong>Bett O'Neal (2019)</strong>, along with <strong>Kamaria Grant (2019)</strong>. Bloomington has losses to Normal Community, Normal West and Canton. <strong>14. Wheaton Warrenville South (7-5)</strong> The Tigers had a five-game winning streak snapped by Wheaton North 48-44 on Friday. WWS is led by Iowa State soccer recruit <strong>Mira Emma (2019)</strong>, who is scoring 10.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range. <strong>Paige Miller (2019)</strong> is committed to Northwestern to play soccer. <strong>15. Canton (9-3)</strong> The Little Giants enter the Classic on a six-game winning streak with losses to state-ranked Lewistown, Morton and Rock Island. Canton is guard-heavy and led by <strong>Cassidy Fawcett (2019)</strong> and <strong>Anna Plummer (2019)</strong>, a St. Ambrose recruit. <strong>16. University High (5-10)</strong> The Pioneers are young with only one senior returning. U-High got off to a slow start, losing seven straight but is turning a corner going 5-3 in its last eight. <strong>Chelsie Price (2020)</strong> leads the team with 7 points per game.