Ottawa begins play at Morris girls shootout on Monday

MORRIS – After being canceled last summer because of COVID-19 restrictions, the 24th Morris Ladies Shootout is set for Monday and Tuesday. Thirty-two teams will be competing at this year’s event.

Day 1 will again consist of pool play with a play-sit-play-sit-play format (three games). Day 2 will consist of a champions brackets (top two teams from each pool) and a third- and fourth-place brackets. All first- and second-place teams (championship bracket) will open up Day 2 at 8 a.m. Third-place teams (maroon bracket) will open at 1:30 p.m., and fourth-place teams (white bracket) will open up at 2:25 p.m. The championship game for the championship bracket will be at 2:25 p.m. Maroon and white brackets’ championship games will be at 5:10 p.m. and 6:05 p.m., respectively.

New teams this year and their IHSA classification are Burlington Central (3A); Hinsdale Central (4A), Reed-Custer (2A), Rosary (2A), Lemont (3A), St. Charles East (4A), Carl Sandburg (4A), Wheaton North (4A), Neuqua Valley (4A), Lake Zurich (4A), Thornwood (4A) and Winnebago (2A).

The teams are divided into eight pools of four. Group A includes Oswego, Burlington Central and Reed-Custer; group B is Plainfield North, La Salle-Peru, St. Charles North and Hinsdale South; group C is Romeoville, Schaumburg, Rosary and Minooka; group D is Joliet West, Andrew, Lemont and East Moline; group E is Honenegah, St. Charles East, Geneseo and Carl Sandburg; group F is Ottawa, Marian Catholic, Wheaton North and Willowbrook; group G is Providence Catholic, Neuqua Valley, Lake Zurich and Thornwood; and group H is Lincoln-Way East, Winnebago, Bloomington Central Catholic and Morris.

“We play in this event every summer,” said Ottawa coach Brent Moore. “Summer basketball is a time to work on your overall game against different teams throughout the state that you might not see during the season. We have practices throughout the month in June, plus our league play here, but this shootout gives us a better idea of how our stuff works.

“This is also a good chance for the girls to showcase their talents with some college scouts there. It’s always a well-run tournament and one that gives coaches, I think, an early look at how some of the pieces might go together. It’s an opportunity for the girls that were JV players last season and the returners a chance to mesh and play together.”

The Day 1 games will begin at 8 a.m. and will start every hour until 7 p.m. There will be a game in the main gymnasium and three in the field house at each time.

“We are really looking forward to this year’s shootout,” Morris girls basketball coach and tournament director Luke Windy said. “We have a lot of quality teams here, and it should be fun and exciting. We added some new teams this year, which will definitely add to our strong field.

“Plus, we brought some teams back that should add to the quality. If you have nothing going on, come on out and watch some good basketball.”

Windy said entry for the shootout will be $7 for one day and $10 for both days. There also will be concessions available at the field house concession stand.

Day 1 schedule

Second team listed is home on the scoreboard.

Main gym: 8 a.m. – Oswego vs. Burlington Central; 9 a.m. – Romeoville vs. Schaumburg; 10 a.m. – Hinsdale Central vs. Burlington Central; 11 a.m. – Joliet West vs. East Moline; noon – St. Charles North vs. Plainfield North; 1 p.m. – Lemont vs. Joliet West; 2 p.m. – Hononegah vs. St. Charles East; 3 p.m. – Bloomington Central Catholic vs. Morris; 4 p.m. – Ottawa vs. Willowbrook; 5 p.m. – Lincoln-Way East vs. Morris; 6 p.m. – Geneseo vs. Hononegah; 7 p.m. – Winnebago vs. Morris

Field house 1: 8 a.m. – Hinsdale Central vs. Reed-Custer; 9 a.m. – Minooka vs. Rosary; 10 a.m. – Oswego vs. Reed-Custer; 11 a.m. – Andrew vs. Lemont; noon – La Salle-Peru vs. Hinsdale South; 1 p.m. – Andrew vs. East Moline; 2 p.m. – Geneseo vs. Carl Sandburg; 3 p.m. – Lake Zurich vs. Thornwood; 4 p.m. – Marian Catholic vs. Wheaton North; 5 p.m. – Winnebago vs. Bloomington Central Catholic; 6 p.m. – St. Charles East vs. Carl Sandburg; 7 p.m. – Lincoln-Way East vs. Bloomington Central Catholic

Field house 2: 8 a.m. – Plainfield North vs. La Salle-Peru; 9 a.m. – Joliet West vs. Andrew; 10 a.m. – La Salle-Peru vs. St. Charles North; 11 a.m. – Minooka vs. Romeoville; noon – Oswego vs. Hinsdale Central; 1 p.m. – Romeoville vs. Rosary; 2 p.m. – Ottawa vs. Marian Catholic; 3 p.m. – Lincoln-Way East vs. Winnebago; 4 p.m. – Carl Sandburg vs. Hononegah; 5 p.m. – Providence Catholic vs. Thornwood; 6 p.m. – Ottawa vs. Wheaton North; 7 p.m. – Thornwood vs. Neuqua Valley

Field house 3: 8 a.m. – St. Charles North vs. Hinsdale South; 9 a.m. – Lemont vs. East Moline; 10 a.m. – Plainfield North vs. Hinsdale South; 11 a.m. – Schaumburg vs. Rosary; noon – Burlington Central vs. Reed-Custer; 1 p.m. – Schaumburg vs. Minooka; 2 p.m. – Wheaton North vs. Willowbrook; 3 p.m. – Providence Catholic vs. Neuqua Valley; 4 p.m. – St. Charles East vs. Geneseo; 5 p.m. – Neuqua Valley vs. Lake Zurich; 6 p.m. – Marian Catholic vs. Willowbrook; 7 p.m. – Providence Catholic vs. Lake Zurich