No matter the result of last night’s showdown with highly-ranked cross-town rival Fenwick in the opening round of the Riverside Brookfield Sectional (after deadline), the OPRF girls basketball team will be celebrating.
The Huskies were able to wear down Morton’s 6-foot-1-inch star Diana Jacklin on Friday night and claim the Oak Park Regional championship trophy. The young squad will also lose just three regular players to graduation and next year welcome in talent from a team that went 22-4 at the sophomore level this season.
“While we’re extremely excited to be playing Fenwick in the playoffs, it’s also exciting that things should look real good for us next season,” said first-year head coach Bob Biggins, careful not to overlook a possible upset of the Friars. “This team is certainly not in awe of Fenwick, but we respect their talent and skill and their exceptional record a great deal. And, of course, we were rewarded for winning the regional by having to face the Friars.”
The Huskies’ leading scorers in Thursday’s regional win will both return next season. Caley Hague scored a team-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, while fellow junior Kendal Dirkin added her average for the year, 10 points.
Seniors Clare O’Connor and Tina Frank combined to score 17 points for the Huskies, who took a 27-23 lead at halftime.
OPRF’s Miki Carter held Jacklin to 17 points.
“Miki did a real good job on their No. 1 player, just wore her down in the third and fourth quarter,” said Biggins. “That really made a big difference for us.”
Along with O’Connor and Frank, the Huskies will lose starter Nneka Nwani to graduation. But the program shouldn’t suffer with returning junior Olivia Wilkes and new recruits in Casey Blaha and Brittany Smith, who averaged in double digits for the sophomore team this season.
“Things look real promising for this program,” said Biggins. “Who knows, maybe we’ll even see Fenwick again next year.”
On Feb. 14, the Huskies opened the Oak Park Regional by trouncing Curie 71-39. An upset over the Friars would pit OPRF against either Proviso East or area rival Trinity on Thursday night for the sectional championship.