East Peoria, Ill. - Final exams are wrapped and so are the presents, so that only means one thing. It's about time to tip off the 42nd Annual ICC Holiday Tournament. Below you can read up on each of the eight participating teams and get to know who you'll be seeing compete on the floor of Lorene Ramsey Gym from the first round games on Thursday, December 28th, all the way through the Consolation and Championship games on Saturday, December 30th.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TOURNAMENT:
WATCH LIVE (ALL GAMES)
LISTEN LIVE (ICC GAMES ONLY)
TOURNAMENT BRACKET
#1 KIRKWOOD EAGLES (12-0)
The nation's top-ranked team, the Kirkwood Eagles bring in another high-powered squad to the ICC Holiday Tournament. Undefeated to start the year, they have not lost a regular season game since January 26th of the 2022-2023 season.
Led by Hall of Fame head coach Kim Muhl (34th Season; 1,022 wins), the Eagles are averaging 81.1 points per game and are shooting at a 45.8% clip.
Individually, Kirkwood is paced by a four-player group averaging north of 10 points per game, with Jenna Twedt (13.8 ppg, 90.9% FTs), Kaylee Corbin (13 ppg, 54% FGs), Demetria Prewitt (11.4 ppg, 51.2% FGs), and Emily Dreckman (11.4 ppg, 53.8% FGs) making up that list. Also of note, Eagles guard Zhakyla Evans is in the top 25 in the nation in assists per game (18th), dishing out 5.3 per game.
2022 Holiday Tournament: L in Championship to CCBC Essex
First Round Pairing: vs. Joliet - Thursday, 12/28 - 2:00 PM
#9 LAKE LAND LAKERS (8-3)
In the tournament in the past as a fill-in team, and also as familiar as any tournament participant to Ramsey Gym, Region 24 member Lake Land is back for their second year in the field for 2023. Fans may want to be hopeful the Lakers bring good weather with them, as coach Dave Johnson's crew will be 10 days removed from a trip to Lake Worth, Florida in advance of the Holiday Tournament.
Never short of offense, Lake Land brings in another group averaging north of 70 points per game (72.2 to be exact). Katelyn Littleton (13.7 ppg, 72.2% FTs) and Audri Spencer (10 ppg, 3.1 apg) pace the offense.
Expect the Lakers to maintain a quality run of ball distribution as well, averaging roughly 16 assists on 25 made shots per game.
2022 Holiday Tournament: L in 3rd Place Game to ICC
First Round Pairing: vs. Black Hawk - Thursday, 12/28 - 12:00 PM
#19 PALM BEACH STATE PANTHERS (12-1)
The Palm Beach State Panthers are back. After having to miss the 2022 tournament, former Bradley University assistant Maureen Smith brings a group into Ramsey Gym that may rival if not beat the high-powered offense they had in the 2021 tournament. Their lone loss on the year is to #4 CCBC Essex, who won the tournament last season.
Savannah McAfee (12.8 ppg, 51.9% FGs), Ashley Thornton (12.3 ppg, 87.5% FTs), and Taylor Blackshear (10.6 ppg, 4.2 spg, 3.9 apg) all average above 10 points per game, and Leah Jessup (9.2 ppg) is just 0.8 shy of that list as well.
As of publication, the Panthers have broken the 70-point threshold in four of their last five games, including a 119-point effort against Essex County back on December 2nd. These points are coming at an efficient rate as well, with eight of the Panthers' 13 games seeing a field goal percentage at or above 40%.
2022 Holiday Tournament: Did Not Participate
First Round Pairing: vs. (RV) Bryant & Stratton (WI) - Thursday, 12/28 - 4:00 PM
(RV) BRYANT & STRATTON (WI) BOBCATS (7-4)
A frequent participant in the Holiday Tournament, the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats make their return to Ramsey Gym in 2023. Led by second-year head coach Brandon Siska, the Bobcats are playing quality basketball at the right time. At this point, they have won four straight games, and broken 70 points in three of those four victories.
When it comes to names to watch, you don't have to look too far down the nation's scoring leaders list to find one. Freshman Trishena Brown, whose 20.5 points per game is good for 19th in the country, leads the way. Not to be outdone, Nevaeh Johnson (17.3 ppg) and Raina Yang (9.7 ppg) continue to turn in solid performances.
The aforementioned Brown may have one of the most well-rounded stat lines among tournament participants, as she also is averaging 10.4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3.3 assists per game.
2022 Holiday Tournament: def. Black Hawk in Consolation Championship
First Round Pairing: vs. #19 Palm Beach State - Thursday, 12/28 - 4:00 PM
ILLINOIS CENTRAL COUGARS (7-4)
The host Cougars are excited to host their highly-touted 42nd annual holiday tournament, and that anticipation is even more pent up by way of a 12-day layoff from game action. ICC is on as good a run as they've perhaps been on all season, having won each of their last four games and five of their last six, to go from (2-3) to their present (7-4) record.
Entering the season with five of their top six scorers having graduated or otherwise moved on to the next level, the Cougars have done a solid job competing against a strong schedule, with two freshman (Savannah Orgeron - 15.8 ppg, Cora DeSutter (12 ppg) pacing the 75.6 ppg scoring attack.
The Cougars have also been crashing the boards. With the team averaging 44 rebounds per game, five players average more than five rebounds per game: DeSutter (5.9), Elena Redgate (5.6), Jhanel Coleman (5.1), Naomi Elliott (5.1), and Addi Swadinsky (5.1).
Over the current four-game win streak, the Cougars are averaging 87.3 points per game.
2022 Holiday Tournament: def. Lake Land in 3rd Place Game
First Round Pairing: vs. McHenry County - Thursday, 12/28 - 6:00 PM
JOLIET WOLVES (5-7)
Albeit on short notice, the Joliet Wolves have stepped up as a fill-in and are ready to participate in this year's ICC Holiday Tournament. 16th-year head coach Sean Sanderson brings his Wolves into Ramsey Gym for *technically* the second time this year, as the Wolves also partook in ICC's Jamboree back in October.
Joliet is nearly averaging 70 points per game (68.8), and they've broken that mark three times, including a 100-69 win over Kishwaukee in early November. Recently, the Wolves battled with D3 #1 Rochester, losing by 17, but still putting up a solid stat line, including shooting 34% from the field and bringing in 50 rebounds.
While the Wolves have a balanced offensive attack, look for their post play specifically to be a factor in their results over the tournament. Freshman forward Kiyah Robertson is one of those posts, averaging 14.4 points per game (2nd on the team) and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Joining Robertson in double figure points per game are Grace Harris (team-best 17.1), Ashanti Brown (11.7), and Maggie Grady (11.1).
2022 Holiday Tournament: Did Not Participate
First Round Pairing: vs. #1 Kirkwood - Thursday, 12/28 - 2:00 PM
BLACK HAWK BRAVES (4-9)
This year's Black Hawk Braves team may be the personification of being much more than a win-loss record. Fifth-year coach Logan Frye has his team prepared with quite the reputable schedule of opposition thus far. Their schedule features a win over ICC (ranked #20 at the time), and close losses to #11 Morton (11 points), #8 Parkland (14 points), #9 Lake Land (13 points), #5 Rock Valley (14 points), and (RV) Bryant & Stratton (3 points).
Individually, the Braves are led by Laney Parker (12.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Andrea Lopreato (10 ppg, 46.2% FGs), and Maddie Nonnenmann (9.2 ppg, 54.1% FGs). Within that scoring is that the Braves have made at least 10 free throws in eight games, including a season-high 16-24 at North Iowa Area back in November.
Expect a bit of a three-point barrage as well, with Black Hawk making five or more threes in each of their last five games, and also making 10 in back-to-back games earlier this year.
2022 Holiday Tournament: L vs. Bryant & Stratton (WI) in Consolation Championship
First Round Pairing: vs. #9 Lake Land - Thursday, 12/28 - 12:00 PM
McHENRY COUNTY SCOTS (4-4)
The McHenry County Scots are back at the ICC Holiday Tournament, but this time, under new leadership. After nine seasons at the helm, Karen Wiley resigned and maintained her role as athletic director, ushering in David Kay as the new leader of the program.
After falling to (1-3) to start the season, the Scots are playing well, going (3-1) in their last four games to even out to their current (4-4) record, getting wins over Kishwaukee (98-44), DuPage (65-56), and Kennedy-King (77-53).
Individually speaking, Coach Kay has two players averaging nearly 20 points per game, with Macy Madsen (19.8 ppg, 77.3% FTs) and Maddie Scharrenberg (19 ppg, 7.4 rpg) leading the way.
Three-point shooting could be a key to their victories over the course of the weekend, having made 10 or more threes in two games this year, including a season-high 11 against Kishwaukee.
2022 Holiday Tournament: Did Not Participate
First Round Pairing: vs. ICC Cougars - Thursday, 12/28 - 6:00 PM
