Basketball + Swimming Roundup: Maine South, Niles West Off to Undefeated Starts

NILES WEST

Girls Basketball: Jewell Loyd has the Wolves off to a 3-0 start in the first week of the season. The Notre Dame-bound senior guard scored 38 points and had 15 rebounds to aid the Wolves’ 56-38 win against Evanston in the Deerfield Thanksgiving Challenge.

Liz Troyk made six three-pointers in the Wolves’ 68-44 win over Deerfield on Nov. 17.

Girls Swimming:  in the 50-yard freestyle at the state championships on Saturday, finishing in 24.20 seconds. Scott improved one place over last year’s sixth-place finish as a freshman.

Scott qualified for the state championships in the 100 free, but just missed advancing to the finals after Friday’s preliminaries.

Senior Kelly Sanks finished in 32nd place in the diving competition with a score of 147.05.

MAINE SOUTH

Girls Swimming: Jenna Zitkus, who qualified for the state championships in two events, did not advance to the finals after the initial preliminary swims. The sophomore swimmer finished in 32nd place in the 100 backstroke (59.53) and was 42nd in the 100 butterfly (59.58).

Maine South also had two relay teams compete in the state preliminaries. 200 free relay finished in 23rd place (1:39.62) while the Hawks’ 400 free relay was 22nd (3:36.39)  

Girls Basketball: With a dominating defense, Maine South has wasted no time in establishing itself as one of the top teams in the state. The Hawks are 3-0 after destroying Grayslake Central 55-21 in the Buffalo Grove Bison Classic. Jacqui Grant had 14 points while Michelle Maher led the Hawks with 16 points, including 11 in the second half.

NILES NORTH

Girls Basketball: Playing in the Somebody’s Hero Thanksgiving Tournament, Niles North won its opener against Johnsburg 45-36 on Friday. The Vikings fell to Proviso East 67-61 on Saturday, evening their record at 1-1 on the young season.

Niles West is steady at No. 3 in our basketball rankings. Maine South comes in at No. 2 after Week 1 while Niles North is ranked ninth.