March 24--FIRST TEAM
Ali Andrews
High school: Huntley.
Class: Senior.
College: Illinois.
Position: Forward.
Height: 6-2.
Team highlights: 30-4; lost to Fremd in Class 4A supersectional.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP first-team All-State; averaged 21.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.5 steals, 2.2 blocks; made 40 3-pointers.
FYI: Finished with 111 varsity wins; helped lead Huntley to three sectional titles; totaled 2,548 points, 1,008 rebounds, 292 assists, 300 blocks, 285 steals.
Repeated: "Shehas a tremendous work ethic, and she's an amazing teammate, and the impact she's left on our program is immeasurable. She's been an unbelievable role model for our team, school and community, and it's been an honor to coach a player of her caliber the last four years." -- Huntley coach Steve Raethz.
Jeannie Boehm
High school: New Trier.
Class: Senior.
College: Harvard.
Position: Center.
Height: 6-3.
Team highlights: 26-5; lost to Glenbrook South in Class 4A sectional semifinal.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP first-team All-State; McDonald's All-American; averaged 19.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocks.
FYI: Finished with 1,872 points, 1,169 rebounds in four varsity seasons; led New Trier to 100 wins, four regional titles, two sectional titles, 4A third-place finish in 2015. Her four older brothers played college sports.
Repeated: "One of the most impressive aspects of Jeannie's game was how hard she played. It was not uncommon for her to get a block or rebound on one end and then finish the fast break on the other end." -- New Trier coach Teri Rodgers.
Kathleen Doyle
High school: Benet.
Class: Senior.
College: Nebraska.
Position: Point guard.
Height: 5-10.
Team highlights: 32-3; beat Fremd to win second consecutive Class 4A state championship.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP first-team All-State; averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.7 steals; made 47 3-pointers.
FYI: Last of six siblings to play sports at Benet. Averaged 22.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and made eight 3-pointers in four state games the past two seasons.
Repeated: "She's the best player in the state. She's really a high-character kid, and it transfers into her play. She's incredibly unselfish and she's willing to do whatever it takes to win. As a coach it makes it so much easier." -- Benet coach Joe Kilbride.
Kiara Lewis
High school: Young.
Class: Senior.
College: Ohio State.
Position: Point guard.
Height: 5-9.
Team highlights: 27-7; lost to Trinity in Class 4A third-place game.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP first-team All-State, averaged 24.2 points, 7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.2 steals; made 103 3-pointers.
FYI: Starting point guard for Young's Class 4A state championship team as sophomore. Named to Jordan Brand Classic All-American team and was the Gatorade Illinois girls player of the year.
Repeated: "She is a silent assassin in games. She didn't say anything on the court and just played hard. When you looked at the final stats, she was going to be there with a lot. She is a really outstanding player. We couldn't rattle her. She just went about her work." -- Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters.
Tori McCoy
High school: St. Thomas More.
Class: Senior.
College: Ohio State.
Position: Center.
Height: 6-4.
Team highlights: 21-8; lost to Lincoln in Class 3A sectional final.
Individual highlights: Class 3A AP first-team All-State; McDonald's All-American, averaged 20.7 points, 8.4 rebounds; shot 67.2 percent from the field.
FYI: Second-team Naismith Girls High School All-American, Jordan Brand Classic All-American. Played in just 27 games in her final two seasons because of injuries.
Repeated: "Tori is one of the best basketball players I have the privilege to coach. She has fought through an ACL surgery and a severely sprained ankle to lead our school, which has an enrollment of 295 students, to the Sweet 16 of 3A. Her work ethic, leadership skills and personality are second to none." -- St. Thomas More coach and former Illinois men's assistant Jay Price.
*****
SECOND TEAM
Kaitlin Aylward
High school: Trinity.
Class: Senior.
College: St. Francis (Ill.).
Position: Forward.
Height: 6-0.
Team highlights: 30-6; beat Young in Class 4A third-place game.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP second-team All-State; averaged 16.9 points, 8.5 rebounds.
FYI: Has a 4.0 GPA and played soccer for most of her life until focusing on basketball after her freshman season.
Repeated: "Kaitlin was the rock of our team this year. She anchored the post and was a leader to the younger kids and was our most consistent player. She dominated girls a lot bigger than her. She had a lot to do with how successful we were this year." -- Trinity coach Mike Valente.
Nicole Ekhomu
High school: Joliet Catholic.
Class: Senior.
College: Florida State.
Position: Point guard.
Height: 5-9.
Team highlights: 17-9; lost to Morgan Park in Class 3A sectional semifinal.
Individual highlights: Class 3A AP first-team All-State; averaged 22 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.1 steals.
FYI: Helped lead Angels to 3A runner-up finish as a sophomore; Under-16 and U-17 USA Basketball trials participant. Cousin of Northwestern running back Justin Jackson. Played for three coaches in her final three seasons.
Repeated: "She's a rare talent that you don't get in your school often, and she handled it as well as any kid could have. She was never in trouble and worked hard in the classroom. She was a great model for current players and future players in our program. Everyone noticed her scoring, but true fans noticed her passing in games, getting players open shots and rebounding for us." -- Joliet Catholic coach Nick Leonard.
Hannah Frazier
High school: Batavia.
Class: Senior.
College: St. Louis.
Position: Forward.
Height: 6-2.
Team highlights: 26-6; lost to Geneva in Class 4A sectional semifinal.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP first-team All-State; averaged 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks.
FYI: Led Batavia to two regional titles -- the Bulldogs had won two regionals in 35 years previously. Batavia won a team-record 26 games this season, with Frazier career finishing as the program's all-time leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Repeated: "Hannah could have even more impressive numbers this year, but we had girls step up around her. Hannah's play elevated the play of the girls around her, so she was able to play freely and develop her outside game more and became more of the alpha dog that we needed her to be. St. Louis is getting a steal. I think she has a very high ceiling when she gets there. " -- Batavia coach Kevin Jensen.
Jaida Green
High school: Downers Grove North.
Class: Senior.
College: Penn State.
Position: Guard.
Height: 6-2.
Team highlights: 19-9; lost to Kenwood in Class 4A regional final.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP second-team All State; averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2.3 blocks.
FYI: Totaled 1,597 points, 564 rebounds, 259 assists, 194 steals, 130 blocks. She shot 40 percent from the field throughout high school.
Repeated: "This year, Jaida got to do so much for us. ... She had to handle it, shoot it, make plays for herself and others, rebound at a high rate for us, and she's done all those things while being the focus of defenses all year." -- Downers Grove North coach Stephan Bolt.
Bryana Hopkins
High school: Fremd.
Class: Senior.
College: Northwestern.
Position: Forward.
Height: 6-2.
Team highlights: 30-3; lost to Benet in Class 4A state championship.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP second-team All-State, averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 assists.
FYI: Her mom played soccer and her dad played basketball at George Washington.
Repeated: "I think she's been an unsung hero over the last two years for our team. When big baskets needed to be scored, she was there. She took the game over in the second half of games, especially when it was necessary. She was a very unselfish kid, but she always stepped up when we needed her to make plays." -- Fremd coach Dave Yates.
*****
THIRD TEAM
Brea Beal
High school: Rock Island.
Class: Freshman.
College: Undecided.
Position: Guard.
Height: 6-1.
Team highlights: 29-4; lost to Edwardsville in Class 4A sectional final.
Individual highlights: Class 4A AP second-team All-State; averaged 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.2 steals, 1.8 blocks; made 66 3-pointers, shot 48.5 percent from the field.
FYI: Has more than 20 scholarship offers, including from Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland and Louisville.
Repeated: "Brea is so coachable, and there has been so much hype in our area about the last two or three years, for a young kid to handle that the way that she did I thought was amazing. She always wanted to be coached and get better. She will be an even better player next year because she won't be satisfied. Her court awareness progressed throughout the season. -- Rock Island coach Thad Hoover.
Deja Cage
High school: Morgan Park.
Class: Senior.
College: Loyola.
Position: Guard.
Height: 5-10.
Team highlights: 30-5; lost to Highland in Class 3A third-place game.
Individual highlights: Class 3A AP honorable mention. Played one season at Morgan Park, but led the Mustangs in scoring (20.5 ppg), 3-pointers (48) en route to the program's first state tournament appearance. The Mustangs also beat 4A state champion Benet and runner-up Fremd.
FYI: Cage played her first three seasons at Fenwick.
Repeated: "Deja was a special player. She was a flat-out scorer, and when I needed a basket I knew I could count on her or to make a play for us. She had a big impact at Morgan Park. She was instant offense and did the little things for us." -- Morgan Park coach Kedonica Taylor.
Tineesha Coleman
High school: Marshall.
Class: Senior.
College: Undecided.
Position: Forward.
Height: 5-11.
Team highlights: 28-4; lost to North Lawndale in Class 3A sectional final.
Individual highlights: Class 3A AP honorable mention; averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists; made 104 3-pointers.
FYI: Played her first two seasons at North Chicago. Her grandfather is current Zion-Benton boys basketball coach Gerald Coleman.
Repeated: "She was a great kid who brought a lot of good qualities to our program and was hard-working. She was a very good player and better person." -- Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters.
Ladellia Maggett
High school: Zion-Benton.
Class: Senior.
College: Undecided.
Position: Point guard.
Height: 5-5.
Team highlights: 23-8; lost to Fremd in Class 4A sectional final.
Individual highlights: North Suburban All-Conference selection; averaged 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.5 steals.
FYI: The Zee-Bees did not have a player taller than 5-foot-9, forcing Maggett to play a do-it-all role in her return to the program after spending the previous two seasons at North Chicago. She overcame two knee injuries and was a defensive force, leading the Zee-Bees to two regional titles.
Repeated: "We asked her to do so much for us this season, from bringing the ball up, to scoring, rebounding and passing, and she often had to guard the other team's best player no matter if she was guard or forward. I only wish we had a true post player to see what she really could have done for us. She was so unselfish and has great court vision." -- Zion-Benton coach Tanya Johnson.
Kendra Wilken
High school: Breese Central.
Class: Senior.
College: St. Louis.
Position: Center.
Height: 6-2.
Team highlights: 26-6; lost to Camp Point Central in Class 2A supersectional.
Individual highlights: Class 2A AP first-team All-State; averaged 19.2 points and 11.6 rebounds; shot 57 percent from the field.
FYI: Went 117-14 in varsity games; set team records with 2,262 points, 1,197 rebounds.
Repeated: "Kendra has made an immeasurable impact on our program over her four years. ... We won four conference championships, four regional championships, three sectional titles and were runner-ups in Class 2A in 2015." -- Breese Central coach Nathan Rueter.
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
