Illinois Ms. Basketball Preview: The Underdogs

With the High School Girls Basketball season tipping off with tryouts and practices this past week, I wanted to start off the season with a look at some candidates for the 2019-2020 Illinois Ms. Basketball award. Now that Rock Island’s Brea Beal (3x Winner) has graduated and begun her career at the University of South Carolina, the state will crown a new player next March. To come up with this list of players, I took those that received votes in last year’s voting and split them into two groups based on the amount of votes each of them received in last year’s voting and have dubbed them ‘The Favorites’ and ‘The Underdogs’. Here are The Underdogs: <strong>Halle Idowu</strong> – A 5’10” Guard/Forward from Richards, Idowu is the lone multiple vote receiver on this list. The Toledo commit attacks the lane strong and finishes well in traffic. Idowu plays sound defense and has been known to go off for 30+ point nights. <strong>Kylie Feuerbach</strong> – A Senior at Sycamore High School, Feuerbach is rated one of the top players in the Nation by several scouting services and media outlets. The Iowa State commit poured in 20.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.7 steals last season on her way to an IBCA 1^st Team All-State recognition. [caption id="attachment_7014" align="alignright" width="300"] Lincoln-Way West Senior <strong>Taylor Gugliuzza</strong> looks for another impressive season and deep playoff run to finish off a great high school career.[/caption] <strong>Brooke Schramek</strong> – A 6’1” Senior Forward at Benet Academy, Schramek looks to get the Lady Redwings back to Redbird Arena after a Fourth-Place finish last season. The Wisconsin commit may see the majority of her minutes in the paint for the guard-heavy Benet team, but her ball handling and shooting abil<span style="font-size: 1rem">ity will really help stretch the floor.</span> <strong>Taylor Gugliuzza</strong> – The 5’8” Guard from Lincoln-Way West averaged 21 PPG and 3.5 APG last season, helping lead West to a Regional Championship before falling to Mother McAuley in the Sectional. The Lewis commit scores at a high rate with efficiency and possesses range way outside the three-point arc. <strong>Brianna McDaniel</strong> – The lone Sophomore included in this Ms. Basketball Preview series, McDaniel is a star in the making. The 5’11” Kenwood Guard handles it well and scores efficiently at all levels. She looks to lead a young Kenwood team to another stellar season.