Girls basketball power rankings: Rockford's top 10 teams, listed in order

Girls basketball tends to be one of Rockford's best sports. And it should stay that way this year.

Two Big Northern schools (Byron and Winnebago) have finished second in Class 2A the last two years, while Galena from the NUIC has reached the 1A state semifinals two years in a row. The other local conference saw Hononegah out of the NIC-10 finish third in Class 4A in 2019.

Several local Big Northern and NUIC schools should be state-ranked this year, as well as Boylan in 3A out of the NIC-10. Here are our preseason power rankings, with team's listed in order of their postseason expectations, not whether a Class 1A team would be expected to beat a 4A team.

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Byron (34-3, 9-0 BNC)

Byron graduates three starters from last year’s Class 2A state runners-up, but Macy Groharing (14.2 points, 2.5 assists, 2.3 steals) was second in both scoring and steals as a freshman. Malia Morton (4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals) was also an impact freshman last year and Karsyn Bielskis averaged 5.6 points as a sophomore. Those three scored 60 of Byron’s 101 points in its two games at state last year. Byron has reached the state title game three times in seven years, winning twice. “They still have plenty of weapons remaining,” Stillman Valley coach Bobby Mellon said.

Orangeville (28-5, 11-1 NUIC North)

Whitney Sullivan, a 6-3 senior forward/center who has committed to NCAA Division I Tulsa, and two-time all-conference guard Laney Cahoon lead what should be the best Orangeville team in history. Again. The two led the Broncos to a school-record 27-5 mark two years ago and then bettered it to 28-5 last year. NUIC West champ Galena, which returns its three best players from a team that has finished third and second in the state the last two years, will be a huge road block on the way to state, but Orangeville should be a top-five team in Class 1A. “Shooters on the perimeter make it difficult to double-down on Sullivan,” River Ridge/Scales Mound coach David Wiegel said. “You have to pick your poison and hope for the best. Their pace of play makes it difficult to fight from behind, so you have to get out to a quick start and make them play catch-up, which is easier to say than do.”

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Freeport Aquin (18-12, 8-3 NUIC North)

Those 18 wins last year ties for the fewest Aquin has had in the last 11 full seasons. It should remain that way. Megan Holder, the star setter on Aquin’s volleyball team that won state last year and finished third in Class 1A the year before, is a returning first-team all-conference guard. Aquin returns four starters and adds the NUIC’s most heralded incoming player since future Arizona State great Sophie Brunner led Aquin to back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013. Paityn London, a 5-8 freshman guard, is the first NUIC basketball player in history to be offered NCAA Division I scholarships before she played a single varsity game. “She is something special,” Eastland coach Nicole Brinker said.

Rockford Lutheran (22-11, 5-4 BNC)

Lutheran won five Class 3A regional titles in six years from 2013 to 2018. This year, Lutheran has a waiver from the private-school multiplier and drops down to Class 1A. Soraya Parker, a 5-8 sophomore guard who was second-team all-conference as a freshman, and 5-8 senior guard Kaylee Bankes lead a program that has won 13 regional titles since 2001 and will now be dropping two classes from its most recent success in the postseason. “Parker and Bankes will be a difficult matchup for any team,” Stillman Valley coach Bobby Mellon said.

Boylan (26-6, 15-3 NIC-10)

Boylan should win its first conference title since going 32-0 in the NIC-10 in 2017 and 2018. Lily Esparza, a 6-2 senior center who has committed to NCAA Division I Denver, is the reigning NIC-10 MVP. Alayna Petalber (10.5 points, 3.2 assists) and special mention all-conference pick Kaylee Harter might also give Boylan the best pair of guards in the NIC-10.

Lena-Winslow (22-8, 7-4 NUIC North)

Grace Groezinger, a 6-1 senior, and 5-11 classmate Molly Amendt led Le-Win to a school-record 37-3 volleyball season. They also power a basketball contender in the loaded NUIC North. Only two of the 14 players on varsity from last year’s 22-8 team graduated. "Groezinger is a handful and Amendt has great size, too," River Ridge/Scales Mound coach David Wiegel said. "If the guard play can handle pressure and make the occasional shot, this team will be a very tough out."

Pecatonica (22-11, 8-4 NUIC North)

Pecatonica returns four of five starters, led by junior guard Elaina Rager, last year’s league MVP. “She should be a force again this year,” Pec coach Daniel Rosenstiel said. “We also return a ton of shooting. … We know the NUIC is going to be competitive as always, but we feel we’ve proven we can compete and be in that upper tier for area 1A teams.”

Stillman Valley (28-7, 5-4 BNC)

Stillman Valley has height and experience inside and out, with 6-1 senior forward Mya Janssen (12.1 points, 10.6 rebounds) and 5-10 junior guard Taylor Davidson (11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 steals). Brooke Jordal (7.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 steals), another 5-10 junior, gives the Cardinals a third well-rounded anchor to build around. “Guards and a post player like Mya can create nightmares,” Winnebago coach T.J. Zambrovitz said. “They will have crazy length that make passing lanes seem miniscule.”

River Ridge/Scales Mound (26-6, 8-2 NUIC West)

The Scales Mound boys team has captured the state’s attention the last two years by finishing third and second in the state with one of the smallest public school teams to ever reach state. The girls co-op team with River Ridge has also been state-ranked the last two years. RR/SM returns four starters from a team that is 51-11 the last two year, led by first-team unanimous NUIC West players Laiken Haas (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3.5 steals) and Annie Werner (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals). All four returning starters are between 5-9 and 6-foot. “We will need to be able to play great defense, limit scoring opportunities and rebound the basketball,” RR/SM coach David Wiegel said.

Hononegah (28-4, 18-0 NIC-10)

Hononegah graduated both its all-conference players last year. Allyson Niedfeldt, a 5-8 senior guard, is Hono’s top returner, making honorable mention all-NIC-10 as a junior, when she averaged 7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals and made 32 3-pointers. Hononegah wins more with balance than with stand-outs the last four years and should do so again this year. But it’s hard to go far in the playoffs without stars. Last year, Hononegah was 28-4 but didn’t make it out of regionals, losing to Harlem by 13 points.

Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's top 10 girls basketball teams for 2023-24 season