Matchup Monday: Top Games To Watch On Opening Day

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Monday is the kickoff to girls' high school basketball in Illinois. With over 141 games being played (via MaxPreps), 71 of those will be in the Chicago Metro Area. Below are some of my top matchups that could be strong games on opening night in the Chicago Metro Area.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">St Charles East vs Prospect </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For St Charles East, their young talent will be playing without their go to scorer in Corrine Reed. But both [player_tooltip player_id='515491' first='Addie' last='Schilb'] and [player_tooltip player_id='881341' first='Brooklyn' last='Schilb'] will provide a bulk of the scoring, and players like [player_tooltip player_id='882032' first='Kathlyn' last='Bainbridge'] will definitely have another breakout season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prospect will be returning with a bulk of last year's crew and will be led by Murray State commit [player_tooltip player_id='874556' first='Alli' last='Linke']. Linke is their do it all player who can legit be utilized at any position on the court. She's one of the main playmakers and the focal point of the scoring. [player_tooltip player_id='861183' first='Zoe' last='Black'] will be impactful for this program as well. She's another player who can be the focal point of a possession and take on both roles as the main scorer, and can defend 1-3 when needed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fremd vs Mother McCauley</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fremd is in more of a rebuild situation this year; a bulk of their talent is young, but those players all have a huge amount of confidence. [player_tooltip player_id='493840' first='Greta' last='Thompson'] will be running a majority of the possessions and will be looked at as the primary scorer. [player_tooltip player_id='743602' first='Grace' last='Todd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='585667' first='Lucy' last='Kim'] will have bigger roles as well and will definitely provide impact on both sides of the ball, especially the defensive side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mother McCauley always shows up as a competitive group when they play, and with their big 3 still here, they could come out of the gate hot. [player_tooltip player_id='915530' first='Taji' last='Alexa'] will be a mismatch for a lot of her matchups. She plays the game with a ton of aggression and has the speed to match it. [player_tooltip player_id='514898' first='Quinn' last='Arundel'] will have a lot of time at the top of scouting reports, and the main thing is to not let her get going.. especially from the outside. She can create her own shot at any time. [player_tooltip player_id='488602' first='Delia' last='Sullivan'] is the glue and the player who can make things happen on both ends, and can control the game just by implenting herself in every possession. She's a kid who doesn't need the ball or need to score to help her team win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Richwoods vs Whitney Young</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitney Young has a lot of young talent, and every player on this roster can score. [player_tooltip player_id='885956' first='Jordyn' last='Ellis'] and Gaby Domercant will handle most of that load, with Gaby likely taking on the primary ball handler and playmaker role. [player_tooltip player_id='879531' first='Morgan' last='Nelson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='879727' first='Yanni' last='Smith'] will add to that scoring punch as well. Then you have the senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='836403' first='Nina' last='Lloyd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='514883' first='Chellise' last='Jones'], who will be a matchup nightmare for anyone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richwoods has added talent [player_tooltip player_id='867873' first='Keniya' last='Todd'], and she is one of those talents in that 2029 class that could be a 3-5 star recruit by the time her high school career wraps up. She'll be a key focal point for this program, and it will be our first time to see her get most of the possessions as the primary scorer, alongside [player_tooltip player_id='879582' first='Londyn' last='Sommerville'], who's another high-tier talent in the state. Londyn is a problem on the boards and the block, and it will be hard to contain this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->