CLASS 4A GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
By MEGhAN MONTEMURRO mmontemurro@shawmedia.com NORMAL – Masking the disappointment was difficult. With third-place up for grabs, the Huntley girls basketball team needed to put together one of its best performances of the season against Whitney Young. But the Dolphins, featuring one of the state’s best players, were too much. Huntley hung tough early, even grabbing a onepoint lead three More from minutes into the Normal game, but the Red Raiders couldn’t Northwest stop Whitney Herald’s Meghan Young on the way Montemurro reto a 60-27 loss at R e d b i r d A r e n a . flects on Huntley’s Huntley’s fourth- experience, Page place finish ended C2. the best season in program history. “These last three days with these kids have been unbelievable,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. “This postseason run has been amazing and they’re just a fantastic team. You hate to walk out of here today and have the season end because you want to keep it going with these kids.” By halftime, as Huntley trailed by 19, it was clear this wasn’t the Red Raiders’ night. Whitney Young’s defense was impenetrable, forcing Huntley to settle for outside shots. The Red Raiders (26-8) shot only 27 percent (10 for 37), and they fared even worse on their 3-point attempts (1 for 9). Frustration understandably built as the night wore on. “We didn’t give up, but even getting fourth now, we still got so much farther than so many other teams,” senior guard Haley Ream said. “We can’t hang our heads. We got so much more time to spend with each other than everyone else. I love my team to death. It’s an amazing season and I didn’t want it to end.” To try and alleviate some pressure against Whitney Young’s full court, man-to-man press, freshman forward Ali Andrews (team-high nine points) brought the ball up the court at times – a strategy that worked often this season.
Scoreboard Clark Brooks – For Shaw Media
huntley’s haley Sabie shares a smile with teammate Maureen Prerost as she prepares to shoot a free throw in the Class 4A third-place game against whitney young on Saturday at Redbird Arena in Normal. The Red Raiders secured the program’s first state trophy, bringing home fourth place after falling to the Dolphins, 60-27. Sabie finished with three points.
BLACKhAwKS AT DETROIT, 11:30 A.M. TODAy, NBC, AM-720
Hawks aim to keep streak against Wings By TOM MUSICK For decades, the Detroit Red Wings were the toughest kids on the block. Their players had names like Yzerman and Federov and Lidstrom and Zetterberg. They poached a beloved Blackhawks defenseman named Chelios. Ring a bell? All told, the mighty Wings won four Stanley Cup titles during an 11-season span from 1997 to 2008. That increased the Wings’ championship count to 11 in total, which trailed only the Montreal Canadiens (25) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). Meanwhile, the Hawks languished. From 1997 to 2008, the Hawks reached the playoffs only once. That happened in 2002, when the St. Louis Blues knocked them off in five games
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BEARS INSIDER Tom Musick
It’s all on the O-line Bears need the front five’s work to improve
See SEASON, page C2
tmusick@shawmedia.com
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Sports editor: Jon Styf • jstyf@shawmedia.com
Saturday’s games Third-place game: Chicago Whitney Young 60, Huntley 27 Championship: Chicago Heights Marian 48, Rolling Meadows 47
Sunday, March 3, 2013 Northwest Herald
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Sports ‘AMAZING SEASON’ Red Raiders end state run with a fourth-place finish
SECTION C
Tables have turned After struggling against the Detroit Red Wings for many years, the Blackhawks have won nine of the past 13 games against their division rivals. The Hawks (18-0-3) will try to improve their season-opening point streak to 22 games today in Detroit. Decade Record Pct. 2010s 9-2-2 .692 2000s 22-26-2-7 .386 1990s 20-36-9 .308 1980s 37-29-9 .493
Source: Blackhawks in the opening round. Times have changed. The Hawks no longer are weaklings. In fact, they’re pretty strong. Record-setting strong.
See STREAK, page C6
CHICAGO – If anyone knows what a recent Marc Trestman offense looks like, it’s Pat Meyer. Meyer, 40, spent last season working alongside Trestman as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. Eight days after the Bears hired Trestman as head coach in mid-January, Meyer followed his former boss south of the border as the Bears’ new assistant offensive line coach. So, about that Trestman offense… “Exciting. Up tempo. Smart,” Meyer said. “All of those.” Of course, none of that can happen without a reliable offensive line. For the past few seasons, the offensive line has been the biggest Follow us trouble spot on the Bears. And Follow the Bears by biggest, I don’t Insider feed on mean heaviest or Twitter for updates hairiest or smelli- on the Bears online est, although most at twitter.com/ of those descripbears_insider. tions also hold The Bears Insider true for the team’s blog is online at collection of Nwherald.com/ 300-pounders. sports/bears Instead, unfortunately, I mean that the Bears’ offensive line has been the most disappointing, most frustrating, most glaring weakness of any position group on the team. It’s great to rank among the league leaders in most offensive team statistics, but back-to-back-to-back top 10 finishes for most sacks allowed is not one of those desired categories. It will be up to Trestman and his coaching staff to straighten out the line. Can they accomplish that mission when so many other recent coaches have tried and failed? I think so, but it’s impossible to know for sure until the regular season kicks off next fall. One thing is certain. It won’t be easy. When we last saw the Bears, the offensive line consisted of J’Marcus Webb at left tackle, James Brown at left guard, Roberto Garza at center, Chris Spencer at right guard and Jonathan Scott at right tackle. Gabe Carimi had been bumped to a backup role because of inconsistent play, while Edwin Williams served as the backup guard and center. Yes, expect Bears general manager Phil Emery to seek upgrades on the offensive line via free agency (which starts March 12) and the NFL draft (which runs April 25 to 27). But Emery will be on a budget after placing the franchise tag on defensive tackle Henry Melton, and even if he did have gobs of money to spend, most available linemen come with risks. It’s possible that the Bears could turn mostly to familiar faces on the offensive line. That seems as if it would be fine with Trestman.
See MUSICK, page C6
Upcoming key NFL dates AP photo
Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville yells to his team during the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at the United Center.
March 12 – Free agency starts April 25 to 27 – NFL Draft
THE DAILY FEED Tweet from last night
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3-pointers
@Bballgirly53 (Ali Andrews) is not impressed #IHSA #State @McKaylaMaroney @HHSRaiderNation” – @IHSAState
Blackhawks at Detroit, 11:30 a.m., today, NBC The Hawks killed all six of Detroit’s power plays in the first meeting between the Central Division rivals Jan. 27.
Angels OF Mike Trout will be paid $510,000 this season after the team renewed his contract, leading to a comment of disproval from his agent. The Astros, on the other hand, will pay Wandy Rodriguez $5 million while he pitches for Pittsburgh.
Bud Selig called for tougher drug testing in baseball Saturday. Here are three entities tougher on crime than baseball is on drugs: 1. John Kimble, Kindergarten Cop 2. Paul Blart, Mall Cop 3. Super Troopers
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