Illinois HS Basketball Top Performers (March 8-14)

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Illinois High School Basketball Players Honored

Illinois-Basketball.com sends emails to the vast majority of coaches in the state of Illinois looking for the some of the top performances from players in the state.

An email was sent to every coach with an email listed on the IHSA website. Any emails omitted can be pointed out to the writer at kalebcarter4256@gmail.com to be added to our database.

We’ve identified nearly 60 deserving athletes between boys and girls basketball. We’ve also included a list of milestones and accomplishments from the past week. 

Check out who we recognized last week. 

Once again, we’re asking for complete all-conference lists. Can send to kalebcarter4256@gmail.com, nudnik.jakub@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ILL_HS_Hoops.

Illinois Girls Player of the Week Nominees

  • Natasha Barnes, Lindblom: The sophomore racked up a triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, 4 assists;
  • Janae Kent, Oak Forest (3A): Scored 36 in a win over Oak Forest to clinch a conference championship; Also scored 38 with 10 rebounds in another win.
  • Xamiya Walton, Butler College Prep: The freshman wowed with 21 points, 10 assists, 7 steals and 6 rebounds in win over Muchin; Posted 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists in a win vs. Comer; 24 points, 10 steals, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in a win over Noble Academy; 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals in a 60-32 win against Phillips; 27 points, 8 assists, 7 steals, 6 rebounds in a win vs. Muchin.
  • Sydney Affolter, Marist (4A): Had a double-double in each of the five games of her last week as a high school player; Put up a slash line (points/rebounds/assists) of 16/11/5 (vs/ Marian Catholic in ESCC title game victory), 29/11/4 (Carmel Catholic), 25/13/7 (Joliet Catholic), 21/10/4 (Lincoln-Way Central), and 23/13/4 (Trinity). 
  • Tahlor Sutton, Hillcrest (3A): Miles College signee scored 31, had 7 assists and 5 steals in a win over Richards.
  • Makiyah Williams, Trinity: Scored 33, had 8 rebounds and 4 blocks; Put up 23 points in a win over De La Salle; Put up 16 points in a 49-48 win over Fenwick to end the season. 
  • Katy Eidle, Hersey (4A): Scored 18 with four 3-pointers and 3 steals in a dominant MSL title game win (68-35) over Fremd; scored 28 in a 63-36 win over St. Ignatius. 
  • Tori Standefer, Civic Memorial (3A): Averaged 15.2 ppg, 4 spg, 4 apg in the last week of the season; led team tok 10-0 finish in the Mississippi Valley.
  • Natalie Schroeder, Watseka (2A): Became 9th player in program history to reach 1,000 points; Led team to 6-0 Sangamon Valley finish, 17-1 overall.
  • Sophia Haska, Fenton (3A): Played in six games with four double-doubles; Averaged 16.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg; 15 points, 10 rebounds against Aurora Christian; Sank 12 3-pointers during the week.
  • Brooke Heiman, Indian Creek (1A): Finished with a Little Ten Conference all-time record 2,124 points; Scored 24 in a 47-39 win over Dakota, 21 in a 47-44 win over Hinckley-Big Rock, 27 in a 57-49 loss to Serena. 
  • Katie Draper, Palestine-Hutsonville (1A): Scored 27 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 4 assists in a win; Put up 39 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in another victory. 
  • Jasper Jones, Momence (2A): Averaged 11.3 ppg, 12.8 rpg during a 2-2 week.
  • Tahj Bloom, Grayslake Central (3A): The freshmann averaged 22.5 ppg, including a 31-point, 12-rebound performance in a win over Round Lake; she led her team to an unbeaten, championship-winning, 7-0 Northern Lake County Conference record.
  • Victoria Matulevicius, Montini Catholic (3A): Averaged 15 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg and scored 22 against Mother McAuley as the Broncos grabbed wins over Aurora Central Catholic, Hope Academy and Mother McAuley. 
  • Kylie Kisgen, Freeburg (2A): Sophomore point guard averaged 15 ppg, 8 rpg, 3.7 apg and 3 spg during the week, all while commiting fewer than one turnover per contest. 
  • Annalise Pietrzyk, Providence Catholic (3A): Averaged 14 ppg and defended the other team’s best scoring as PC went 2-1 against the likes of De La Salle (2 wins) and Lockport (loss); led her team to a 10-0 finish in the GCAG White Division. 
  • Addison Bent, Vienna (2A): Broke school records for blocked shots in a season and a career and scored the winning bucket in a 47-45 win over Massac County. 
  • Chloe Pruitt, Mahomet-Seymour (3A): The sophomore scored 27 points and collected 14 rebounds in a win over Bloomington Central Catholic. 
  • Avery Jackson, Kankakee (3A): The junior scored 29 points and reached 1,000 career points as the Kays finished 9-1 in the Southland Conference to win the regular season title (second in tournament). 
  • Kloe Froebe, Lincoln (3A): Averaged 26.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4 apg, 4.4 spg and shot 70.1% from the charity stripe; Broke a 20+ year-old record for points by a freshman in program history (scored 475, previous high was 417).
  • Katie Krupa, Morton (3A): The Harvard commit sored 29 points in a 49-44 overtime victory over Washington in the first-ever Mid-Illini Conference Tournament Championship game, and became the 15th Potters player to score 1,000 points.
  • Emily Fisher, Libertyville (4A): Averaged 16.3 ppg on 55.8% shooting, 8.7 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2 spg and 1.7 bpg; Led her team to wins over Stevenson, Lake Forest and Saint Viator; Helped her team finish on a 14-game winning streak, a 7-0 conference record (16-2 overall) and a North Suburban Conference championship (regular season and tournament).
  • Anna Griffin, Aurora Christian (1A): Scored a career-high (school-record) 39 points and added 17 rebounds in the Metro Suburban championship game (finished 12-1 in conference); Illinois-Basketball.com wrote about Griffin in September.
  • Whitney Zumbahlen, Newton (2A): Registered a triple-double in her final high school game, with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals in a win over Casey-Westfield. 
  • Isabella Finnegan, Mother McAuley (4A): 20 points, 11 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 assists against Montini; 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in another game against Montini;  15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks vs. St. Laurence; Also, Faith Okorie, 22 points, 6 rebounds against Montini. 
  • Brooke Carlson, Batavia (4A): Averaged 16.3 points per game over three games and had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists in a game vs. Wheaton Warrenville South; Also, Tessa Towers had 28 points, 10 rebounds vs. WWS and 12 points in games against St. Charles East and St. Charles North. 
  • Claire Roberts, Sandwich (3A): Averaged 13 ppg, 4 spg, 3 apg, 2 rpg over two games; Also, Josie Ness had 11 ppg, 10 rpg, 5 bpg, 2 spg over two games and went over 1,000 career points. 
  • Campbell Shrank, Winnebago (2A): Led her team to a Big Northern Conference Tournament title after a 9-1 conference season; combined for 41 points, 14 rebounds and shot 69% between wins in the BNC semis and title game. 
  • Haley Stoklosa, Lincoln-Way Central (4A): Scored 23 vs. Marist and 15 vs. Stagg as LWC went 2-1 for the week and finished second in the Red Division of the SWSC.
  • Trinity Wade, Shelbyville (2A): Scored her 1,000th point and averaged 26 ppg during the week. 
  • Khloe Damm, Illini Central (1A): Over four games, averaged 26.3 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 5 apg, 6.5 spg and 3 bpg; Set a school record with a 41-point outburst in which she made 17 free throws; set school record with 1,656 points. 

Illinois HS Boys Players of the Week

  • Joe Melton, NCOE (1A): Recorded three consecutive triple-doubles in the Greater Egyptian Conference tournament; Had stat lines of, in points/rebounds/blocks, 24/14/10 in the quarters, 28/12/11 in the semis, 25/13/12 in the final. 
  • Don Williams, HSA Southwest (1A): Set a school record with a 50-point performance in a win over Back of the Yards Prep; Added a 24-point, 11 rebound game and 17-point, 11-rebound outing; Also, Joseph Perkins averaged 24.6 ppg, had 12 assists in one game and 8 steals in another. 
  • Xavier Gagnepain, Sycamore (3A): Posted 23 points, 10 rebounds in a 57-49 win over previously undefeated DeKalb. 
  • Jaden Schutt, Yorkville Christian (1A): Scored 26 in a win over Flanagan-Cornell and 34 in a victory over Neuqua Valley.
  • Mason Kibelkis, Peotone (2A): Scored 28 vs. Reed-Custer. 
  • Robbie Avila, Oak Forest (3A): Scored 42 and had 20 rebounds against Tinley Park; Put up 22 points, 12 rebounds in a win over Oak Lawn. 
  • Lathan Lewis, Harlem (3A): 21 points, 15 rebounds in a conference championship game loss to Rockford East. 
  • Jamauri Winfrey, Richwoods (3A): 35 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks against Moline. 
  • AJ Smith, Metro-East Lutheran (1A): 40 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists.
  • For Saint Ignatius, Parker Higginbottom (best game 22 points, 4 assists); Richard Barron (25 points vs. Bolingbrook); AJ Redd, 19 points, 13 rebounds vs. Chicago U-High); Kolby Giles (12 points, 9 rebounds in U-Hgh win; John Digenan, (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) all nominated. 
  • Calvin Lucas, Proviso West (4A): 23 points, 8 assists vs. Addison Trail.
  • Blake Peters, Evanston (4A): Hit the game-winning 3-pointer to push Evanston past Niles Notre Dame in the Chipotle Classic semis.
  • Brian Matthews, DePaul College Prep: Was named MVP of the Chipotle Classic after scoring 19, grabbing 6 rebounds in a 51-36 win over Evanston in the title game; Also, Ty Johnson had 9 points, 5 assists in the title game, had17 points in the semis and 32 in a win over Whitney Young.
  • Graham Meisenhelter, Macon Meridian (1A): Had point and rebound totals of 34/10, 25/15, 22/16 and 20-16 as Meridian finished 7-0 in the CIC; Added 9 steals, 12 assists total over the four games. 
  • Hillcrest, Julis Rollins (4A): The Kent State signee finished his career with an undefeated season (13) and with a 20-point game; also had a 12-assist performance against Argo.
  • Jonathan Daly, Agape Christian: Scored 41 points in a game; 21 points, 6 steals, 4 rebounds in a win over Shawnee.
  • Trey Bazzell, Prairie Central (2A): Scored 21 and broke the school scoring record in a 52-43 victory over St. Thomas Moore; Scored 31 in the season finale, an 81-62 win, to end with 1420 for his career. Trey averaged 23.2 pts, 8 rpg, 4 apg, 2.7 spg, and 2.5 bpg.
  • Nate Fleisher, Highland Park (3A): In the final two games of his career scored 18 with 2 rebounds and 2 assists, then had 15 points and five steals as the Giants defeated Maine East twice; finished with 601 career points (30th in program history) and 81 3-pointers (12th all-time).
  • Angelo Vassilakis, Lockport (4A): The senior averaged 8.0 ppg, 6.3 apg and 4.1 spg in his final three games, leading his team to wins over Lincoln-Way West, Lincoln-Way East and Andrew.

Milestones/Accomplishments, Game-Winners and More

We’re on the lookout for records and milestones, monster performances and game-winners. You can find more info like this by subscribing to the Illinois High School Basketball News Newsletter.

All-Time Leaders

  • Illini Central senior Khloe Damm: Scoring (1,656).

• Fieldcrest’s Jaxon Cusac-McKay broke the program records for assists and made free throws; Finished fourth in points in school history (1,399).

2,000-point scorers

1,000-point scorers

Coach Milestones

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