Girls basketball: 5 storylines to watch in McHenry County in 2023-24

The Northwest Herald girls basketball preview will appear in print Tuesday, with info on every local team. Until then, here are five storylines to look out for in the 2023-24 season.

Is Huntley still the team to beat in the FVC?

Huntley won its second straight Fox Valley Conference championship in dominant fashion last winter, beating every team in the conference twice on its way to an 18-0 record.

Hampshire came closest to catching Huntley, with both of its losses coming to the Red Raiders, and return an experienced group, including seniors Ashley Herzing, Avery Cartee and Whitney Thompson.

Burlington Central and Crystal Lake Central tied for third, and Prairie Ridge was fifth.

Huntley (28-5) had its most wins since going 30-4 in 2016, but will look very different this season after graduating eight seniors, including two Northwest Herald All-Area first-team choices in Jessie Ozzauto (16.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Sammi Campanelli (11.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg).

With their top two scoring options gone, junior guard Anna Campanelli will take on a bigger workload for the Raiders after averaging 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds last year. Huntley graduated eight seniors, but carries a 28-game FVC winning streak into the season.

Can Marian Central top last season?

Nobody had a bigger turnaround in McHenry County last year than Marian Central, which went from five wins in 2022 to a program-record 25 wins in 2023. The Hurricanes, who played an independent schedule, finished 25-8 and earned their second Class 2A regional title since 2020.

Marian was led by standout guard-forward Madison Kenyon, an All-Area first-team selection who returns for her senior year after averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 11.7 rebounds a game.

The Hurricanes played tough in a season-ending loss to Stillman Valley in the sectional semifinals, but return all five starters from last year’s record-breaking team, including junior guard Abbey Miner, an All-Area honorable mention pick.

Is Marengo still the KRC favorite?

Marengo will aim for a repeat Kishwaukee River Conference championship after going 10-0 last season. The Indians bring back one of the area’s top scorers in senior guard Bella Frohling, who was named the KRC Player of the Year averaging nine points and 5.7 rebounds a game. However, Marengo did lose three All-KRC starters to graduation.

Johnsburg – last year’s KRC runner-up – and Woodstock North graduated their top scorers, while Woodstock, which was third in the KRC, could look to make a jump in the standings with a strong senior class.

Who will lead the area in scoring?

Six of the area’s top-10 scorers graduated last year, but the area’s top scorer, Crystal Lake Central guard Katie Hamill is back after averaging 21.7 points a game as a junior. Hamill, the reigning Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year, was the only player in McHenry County to average more than 20 points a game.

Alden-Hebron’s Jessica Webber was second at 17.8 points a game, followed by Ozzauto (16.2), Kenyon and Burlington Central’s Page Erickson (13.4), who also graduated.

Crystal Lake South’s Laken LePage averaged 11.1 points a game during her freshman season, but will miss the season after suffering a torn ACL in August. Prairie Ridge’s Addie Meyer was 11th in the area in scoring at 10 points a game. Herzing (9.2 ppg) and Frohling were the only other local players to average more than nine points a game.

Will more teams find postseason success?

Last year’s area teams had a rough showing in the playoffs, with only Burlington Central (Class 3A) and Marian Central (2A) winning regional titles. Both teams fell in their respective sectional semifinal games.

Huntley fell to Guilford in a Class 4A Huntley Regional title after getting back-to-back regional titles in 2021 and 2022. Marengo (2A), Crystal Lake Central (3A) and Dundee-Crown (4A) were the only other area teams to reach a regional final.