By Jeff Vorva

Last season, Peotone High School girls basketball team had one of the best records in school history with a 30-2 mark.

Will something like that ever happen again?

It’s too soon to tell, but there are a group of players that are going to give it a run in the coming years.

The Peotone Junior High School seventh grade girls basketball team continued its unbeaten season with a 26-15 victory over Manteno on November 15 to capture the Class 3A Regional 5 Title in the Illinois Elementary School Association postseason.

The team improved to 24-0 with the victory.

Earlier in the tournament Peotone knocked out Kankakee Bishop McNamara, 25-6.

The tournament takes a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but resumes at 6:30 p.m. on November 29, and Peotone faces Monticello (18-5) at the Prairie Central Junior High School in Forrest.

A long time for CMMS

Also in IESA regional play, Crete-Monee’s Middle School won a seventh grade regional for the first time since 2006, with a Class 4A 31-26 victory over Kankakee Junior High School.

Crete-Monee (16-4) faces Mahomet Seymour (21-5) in sectional play at 6:30 p.m. on November 29 at Kankakee Junior High School.

Gesky all-tournament

In high school hoops, Manteno’s Maddie Gesky was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Reed-Custer Tournament, where the Panthers finished 2-1.

They finished the tournament on a high note with a 46-22 win over Grace Christian. Manteno’s defense turned on the jets as it allowed just four points.

Sara Schmidt had 16 points, Gesky added 11 points and five rebounds, while Emily Horath hauled down nine rebounds. Macy Iwanus and Sydney Sosnowski each recorded four steals.

Look at this kid!

Illinois Hoops Recruits put out a preseason list of “underrated hoopers that college coaches need to be looking at!”

That list includes Beecher senior guard Adyn McGinley, who was named Associated Press Class 2A All-State honorable mention for the 2022-23 season.

Thus far, he holds offers from Rockford University and Augustana, according to the Illinois Hoops Recruits.

As a junior, he averaged 20.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.8 steals for the Bobcats, who won 25 games.

Beecher tournament wrapping up

The 10-team Beecher Fall Classic girls basketball tournament, which opened for business on November 14, was still going strong on Saturday and had pool play still scheduled for Monday, with the finals slated for Tuesday.

Through Saturday’s play, Rich Township had a 4-0 record in the Orange Pool, while St. Laurence had a 3-0 mark in the Black Pool.

Locally, Peotone was 2-1 and Beecher was 0-3 in the Orange Pool, and Crete-Monee was 1-2 in the Black Pool.

Have an item?

Do you have a sports item for this report? Email it to Jeff Vorva at jvorva@aol.com.

The Crete-Monee Middle School seventh grade girls basketball team won an IESA Regional Championship and heads to sectional play on November 29. Photo by Crete-Monee Middle School.