Our hoops tourney has best of decade

Paige Fiedorowicz was a key player on Johnsburg's 2006 and 2007 girls basketball teams, both of which made the field for the Northwest Herald/McHenryCountySports.com tournament of the 2000s. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@nwnewsgroup.com)

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The Northwest Herald did not want to be left out of the hoopla surrounding NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday.

The Northwest Herald/McHenryCountySports.com Tournament Committee pored over records and performances to come up with its best boys and girls basketball teams of the 2000s. Eight teams each were invited to our tournament, which tips off today.

Which girls team do you think was the best – Johnsburg in 2006 or 2007, or Hampshire’s Class A state runner-up squad in 2004?

Was Johnsburg’s 2003 boys team, the only area team to make the Class AA State Tournament, the best around here since 2000? Or was Cary-Grove 2001, Prairie Ridge 2004 or Johnsburg 2006 better?

You get to decide. During the next two weeks, the girls’ and boys’ tournaments will be played out with the help of readers on McHenryCountySports.com. Visit the site and look for the teams for which you can vote.

Here’s how it works: Four teams will go up at a time on the site, and you can vote for the team that you think is best. Starting with the girls, four teams will be posted today and Tuesday, then four more will be up Wednesday and Thursday. The final four then will be posted Friday through Sunday.

The boys tournament will start March 22 in the same format.

Here is a rundown of the girls teams:

Hampshire, 2003

The Whip-Purs finished third in Class A and were 32-2 overall. Jackie Heine scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Whips’ third-place game against Okawville. Nicole Watzlawick, Stephanie Lamkin and Rachel Markham also averaged double-digit scoring. It was legendary Hampshire coach Milt Awe’s final game.

Hampshire, 2004

The Whips finished second in Class A and were led by Heine, Watz-lawick and Amanda Walker. Watzlawick was the 2004 Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year, and Awe, who was a spectator, thought she was the best player in the state finals that year. She finished the season averaging 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds a game. The Whips finished 30-4.

Jacobs, 2004

The Golden Eagles lost in a Class AA quarterfinal to Fenwick. Jacobs was led by Natalie Pucci, who averaged 16.1 points a game, and Amanda Schuring, who averaged 10.6. It was now-former coach Ed Haugens’ first season at the helm. The Eagles finished 24-8 and second in the Fox Valley Conference.

Johnsburg, 2006

The Skyhawks lost to Warren in a Class AA Sectional final after leading by four at halftime. They were led by Paige Fiedorowicz, Jenny Turpel and Mallory Scharf.

It was the Skyhawks’ first trip to a sectional final. Fiedorowicz, who plays at Marquette, was the 2006 Northwest Herald Player of the Year. She averaged 17 points a game, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 steals. She was named to The Associated Press’ All-State Second Team.

Johnsburg, 2007

The Skyhawks lost in a Class AA Sectional final to Warren for the second consecutive year. The Blue Devils won on an improbable three-pointer at the buzzer to end Johnsburg’s season at 28-5.

The Skyhawks were led by Turpel, who scored 17 points against Warren; Fiedorowicz, who scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds; and Scharf. Fiedorowicz was named the Northwest Herald Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year, and was a member of the 2007 Associated Press All-State First Team.

Cary-Grove, 2008

The Trojans were 26-4 and lost to Hononegah in a Class 4A Sectional semifinal. C-G was led by Danielle Smith, Jamie Kuhl, Jill Cole and Claire Jakubicek.

It was junior point guard Megan Straumann’s first year running the show and Jakubicek’s first year on varsity. Coach Rod Saffert led the Trojans to an FVC Valley Division title and beat Crystal Lake South in the Class 4A Prairie Ridge Regional final to advance. Kuhl and Smith both were named to the Northwest Herald All-Area First Team.

Johnsburg, 2009

The Skyhawks lost in a Class 3A supersectional to Freeport, 53-52, after leading most of the way. It was Johnsburg’s second consecutive supersectional loss. They were led by Heather Miller, Danielle Slivka, Megan Lopez, Melissa Dixon and Krista Volden and finished the season 27-8 in what some observers predicted would be a rebuilding year.

Dixon averaged 16.1 points a game while Slivka averaged 12 and Miller averaged 10. Dixon’s three-pointer with five seconds left in the game pulled Johnsburg to its final margin. Coach Mike Toussaint was named the Northwest Herald Coach of the Year, and Dixon was an All-Area First-Team selection. She also received an Associated Press All-State honorable mention.

Hampshire, 2010

The Whips finished the season 29-2 and lost to Oswego in a Class 3A Sectional final. They were
led by Chrissy Heine, Cassie Dumoulin and Alex Dumoulin. Heine scored her 1,000th career point in November, and Alex Dumoulin averaged a double-double.

Hampshire was undefeated until losing to South Elgin in late January. It outscored all of its postseason opponents by 91 points before losing to Oswego by three after staging a remarkable second-half comeback.

• Northwest Herald sports writer Maureen Lynch contributed to this report.