25th Annual Morris Ladies Shootout to tip off Monday

MORRIS — For the 25th year, the Morris Ladies Shootout will tip off Monday. The 32-team event will consist of eight four-team pools. On Monday, each pool will play round-robin, meaning that every team in the pool will play every other team. The results of pool play will determine the brackets for Tuesday’s bracket play.

For the first time, new Morris girls varsity basketball coach Nick Virgl will be running the event. Although he may be new to the top job, Virgl is not new to the tournament or to the Morris program. He had previously been the sophomore coach for the last four seasons.

“I am familiar with the program and with the tournament,” Virgl said. “But, this is the first time I am running the whole tournament, and there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that I didn’t know went on. It gives me a good sense of what to expect as the head of the program. Stuff like ordering uniforms, scheduling practices for all the levels, making sure the lower levels are doing what I want them to do.

“I am thankful that a couple of coaches, Amy Carr and Mel Stevens, have stayed as part of the staff so they can help me out.”

The cost to attend the tournament is $7 for a one-day pass and $10 for a two-day pass. For kids 12 and under, it is $5 for both days.

The participating teams are:

Pool A: Hinsdale Central, Yorkville, Sandburg, Coal City

Pool B: Hinsdale South, WInnebago, Lincoln-Way Central, Romeoville

Pool C: Lemont, Andrew, Neuqua Valley, Minooka

Pool D: Peotone, Plainfield South, Joliet Central, York.

Pool E: Round Lake, Ottawa, Plainfield North, Downers Grove South

Pool F: Oswego, Schaumburg, Willowbrook, Plano.

Pool G: Providence Catholic, LaSalle-Peru, Oswego East, Thornwood.

Pool H: Bloomington Central Catholic, Morris, Somonauk, East Aurora.

The breakdown of the first day’s games is as follows (MG=Main Gym, FH1=Fieldhouse Court 1, FH2=Fieldhouse Court 2, FH3=Fieldhouse Court 3):

8 a.m.: Hinsdale Central vs. Yorkville (MG); Sandburg vs. Coal City (FH1); Hinsdale South vs. Winnebago (FH2); Lincoln-Way Central vs. Romeoville (FH3).

9 a.m.: Lemont vs. Andrew (MG); Neuqua Valley vs. Minooka (FH1); Peotone vs. Plainfield South (FH2); Joliet Central vs. York (FH3).

10 a.m.: Yorkville vs. Sandburg (MG); Hinsdale Central vs. Coal City (FH1); Winnebago vs. Lincoln-Way Central (FH2); Hinsdale South vs. Romeoville (FH3).

11 a.m.: Andrew vs. Neuqua Valley (MG); Lemont vs. Minooka (FH1); Plainfield South vs. Joliet Central (FH2); Peotone vs. York (FH3).

Noon: Lincoln-Way Central vs. Hinsdale South (MG); Romeoville vs. Winnebago (FH1); Sandburg vs. Hinsdale Central (FH2); Coal City vs. Yorkville (FH3).

1 p.m.: Joliet Central vs. Peotone (MG); York vs. Plainfield South (FH1); Neuqua Valley vs. Lemont (FH2); Minooka vs. Andrew (FH3).

2 p.m.: Round Lake vs. Ottawa (MG); Plainfield North vs. Downers Grove South (FH1); Oswego vs. Schaumburg (FH2); Willowbrook vs. Plano (FH3).

3 p.m.: Bloomington Central Catholic vs. Morris (MG); Oswego East vs. Thornwood (FH1); Providence Catholic vs. LaSalle-Peru (FH2); Somonauk vs. East Aurora (FH3).

4 p.m.: Ottawa vs. Plainfield North (MG); Round Lake vs. Downers Grove South (FH1); Schaumburg vs. Willowbrook (FH2); Oswego vs. Plano (FH3).

5 p.m.: Morris vs. Somonauk (MG); Providence Catholic vs. Thornwood (FH1); LaSalle-Peru vs. Oswego East (FH2); Bloomington Central Catholic vs. East Aurora (FH3).

6 p.m.: Willowbrook vs. Oswego (MG); Plano vs. Schaumburg (FH1); Plainfield North vs. Round Lake (FH2); Downers Grove South vs. Ottawa (FH3).

7 p.m.: East Aurora vs. Morris (MG); Somonauk vs. Bloomington Central Catholic (FH1); Oswego East vs. Providence Catholic (FH2); Thornwood vs. LaSalle-Peru (FH3).

“I think we have a really good field,” Virgl said. “There were a few teams from last year that dropped out, but we were able to fill the spots and still have a 32-team field. The really cool thing is that we have schools from all over and all different sizes. The Class 1-2A teams are excited about being able to play against Class 3-4A teams.

“Teams are going to see teams that they wouldn’t normally be able to see or play against. That makes it pretty fun.”