1. Bishop McNamara’s Khadaizha Sanders can check one thing off her bucket list. Wednesday against Benet, the 2013-14 Sun-Times All-Area selection became McNamara’s all-time leading scorer when she passed Jennifer Jurgens’ mark of 2,093. Next on Sanders’ list is the school’s first East Suburban Catholic title, followed by the school’s first state title. The Fightin’ Irish finished third in 2011, the year before Sanders arrived, and have not been back to state since. Last year, McNamara lost to Joliet Catholic 78-70 in a Class 3A sectional final.
2. Benet suffered its second loss of the season last Wednesday at McNamara, never trailing throughout regulation or overtime until Hannah Lambert’s 3-pointer with seconds left in overtime gave the Irish a 58-56 win. Still, Fremd coach Dave Yates likes Benet’s chances of getting downstate. “I don’t want to put the whammy on them, but that’s a downstate caliber team,” he said after the Redwings defeated Fremd 61-54 at the 25th Annual McDonald’s Shootout at Willowbrook. If the two teams meet again, it would be in the Class 4A title game.
3. Montini won Round 1 against North Lawndale 58-46 Saturday at the City/Suburban Shootout hosted by Kenwood. But the Broncos could see the Phoenix again in the sectional, and Corey Morgan’s kids will be ready. “We got to close out better on their shooters, we got to get a body on their big girls and rebound the ball,” the North Lawndale coach aid. “I think that was the difference. I thought we were right there the whole game, but in the fourth quarter we missed shots that we usually make. You can’t do that against really good teams.’’
