Girls Basketball notes: Allie Mizwicki, Glenbard South off to perfect start

Because of an injury, Glenbard South junior Allie Mizwicki spent last season playing point guard.

Now back at shooting guard, she and the Raiders are reaping the benefits. The Raiders won the Rachel Bach District 87 Tournament at Glenbard East for the first time since 2017 and moved to 6-0 by beating South Elgin 53-45 Dec. 2.

Mizwicki was named the Bach Most Valuable Player after scoring 43 points over three victories and hitting several 3-pointers. Sophomore Brooklynn Moore and freshman Jamie Mizwicki, Allie’s sister, also were all-tournament.

“Last year, I had to step up. [Point guard] is definitely not what I’m comfortable with, but I had to do it,” said Allie Mizwicki, a 2021 all-tournament selection. “This year, it’s really helped because the point guards are way more experienced. They’re getting me open shots, which is good for the team. Then the posts are able to get all of the rebounds for my missed shots.”

The Raiders mostly led from the start for an uplifting 45-39 victory over defending Bach champion Glenbard West on Nov. 21, but they needed rallies to beat Glenbard East 52-41 Nov. 19 and Glenbard North 50-46 in overtime Nov. 22.

“All three are always tough teams. The girls were really excited about that [45-39] win because West has their number year after year,” Glenbard South coach Eric Daca said.

Last season, Daca’s first as coach, the Raiders battled to finish with a 15-14 record. They were minus two injured players last season – 5-10 Sofia Alcala, now a junior, and Mia Lake, who had an early season ACL tear. Lake, a senior, is back handling the ball, along with sophomore Brooke Buenafe and freshman Rheayanna Ferguson. Forward Kate Bruhl is another varsity freshman.

The 6-foot Moore said she’s become tougher from having to play inside last season with Alcala sidelined.

“I love that [now] we can count on each other or know that the other one’s on the other side,” Moore said.

Allie Mizwicki’s 21 points against Glenbard West featured 5-for-8 3-point shooting. Her 12 points against Glenbard North included 7-for-10 free-throw shooting in overtime.

“[MVP] felt like all my hard work paying off,” Mizwicki said. “This year, I was making shots and even if I was getting down, my team was able to help support it.”

Good Knights

IC Catholic Prep junior Allie Geiger scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter in a game against visiting Riverside-Brookfield, concluding with back-to-back conventional three-point plays.

“My team just had great passes. I was able to get to the basket,” Geiger said.

Geiger completed a 13-point run for IC Catholic, but the Bulldogs scored the last five points to prevail 54-48 after IC Catholic came within one point twice after trailing 47-33. Geiger (15 points with 7-for-8 free-throw shooting) and juniors Analisa Raffaelli (12 points) and Kelsey McDonough (11 points) are helping the Knights (4-3) overcome the graduation of standout leading scorer Claire Wagner. The trio contributed between 14 and nine points each in a 43-40 victory over Lemont on Nov. 26.

“We definitely depended on [Wagner] a lot. I think we’ve been able to stretch out the scoring,” Geiger said. “I’m hoping to lead [our newcomers] and help them integrate fully into the team and just run the offense, help keep things together on defense.”

Because of fall sports success by junior Jenny Fromelt (volleyball) and sophomore Graziella Narcisi and McDonough (cross country), it was only the third week that IC Catholic had all nine players. Mia McMillen is the lone senior.

“We’re still young,” IC Catholic coach Todd Fisher said. “It’s a work in progress. We know what we’re aiming for. We’ve got work to put in and we’ll put the work in.”

Tournament success

In addition to Glenbard South, other tournament champions were York at the York tournament, Montini at the Willowbrook tournament and Nazareth at the Hinsdale South/Hinsdale Central tournament.

Other area all-tournament selections included Glenbard West senior Kennedy Brandt and sophomore Julia Benjamin and Glenbard East junior Catey Carney (Glenbard East), York senior Mariann Blass and junior Stella Kohl and Downers Grove South senior Emily Petring (York), Downers Grove North senior Maggie Fleming and junior Kaitlyn Parker and Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore Emily Troia (Schaumburg), Fenwick senior Cam Brusca (New Trier) and Montini senior Shannon Blacher and junior Victoria Matulevicius and Willowbrook junior Elle Bruschuk (Willowbrook). Willowbrook senior Nina Nytko was second team.