Girls Basketball: Fenwick, Trinity prep for McDonald’s Shootout

Shannon McGinnis’ favorite memory of last year’s McDonald’s Shootout occurred off the court.

McGinnis remembers seeing Trinity fans arrive at Willowbrook in a charter bus, and all the Blazers fans wore white for a Trinity “White Out” in the bleachers.

“It was very exciting,” said McGinnis, a junior forward residing in Niles. “We look forward to the Shootout all season, especially when we see the newspaper rankings.”

McGinnis will compete in her second McDonald’s Shootout as a starter for the No. 4 Blazers (15-1), who won their eighth consecutive game with a 66-57 win at No. 5 Hillcrest (14-2) on Saturday.

In the 22nd annual McDonald’s Shootout, Trinity will play No. 3 Marist (16-0) at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 16. Trinity defeated Lincoln-Way East in last year’s McDonald’s Shootout.

No. 13 Fenwick (12-4) plays St. Joseph (13-2) of St. Louis at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 16 at Willowbrook in Villa Park. St. Joseph (13-2), which was ranked No. 1 in the St. Louis area for Class 5A large schools, will play at No. 19 Marian Catholic (10-7) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

St. Joseph lost to Incarnate Word 46-41 in the championship of the Visitation Christmas Tournament in Frontenac, Mo., on Dec. 28. The Angels’ only other loss came to Holy Cross of Kensington, Md., by a 51-36 count in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Dec. 21.

St. Joseph is led by Visitation tourney MVP Maddie Stock, who averages 17.5 points a game and had 51 three-pointers through Jan. 9. Stock scored a game-high 17 points against Incarnate Word, and is a teammate with her 6-foot twin, Morgan. One of the Angels’ top players is 6-3 Sydney Stipanovich, a niece of former Missouri and Indiana Pacers star Steve Stipanovich. St. Joseph also features 6-0 forward Erin Nelson.

After their trip to the greater Chicago area, the Angels will play No. 2 Bolingbrook (10-1) in the Coaches for Cancer Shootout in St. Louis. Jan. 26

Fenwick is the only team in this year’s McDonald’s Shootout that will play twice. The Friars compete against No. 12 Neuqua Valley (13-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Fenwick’s players are taking final exams this week, and the game with Neuqua Valley will be the Friars’ first since beating Fremd 81-77 in overtime for third place at the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic on Dec. 29.

Fenwick coach Dave Power, who will make his 19th appearance at the McDonald’s Shootout, said he’s curious as to how the team’s new run-and-gun offense will fare in back-to-back games against top teams.

“Being in the run-and-gun offense was really hard for four days in a row (at Dundee-Crown),” Power said. “We got a lot of shooting in. We think we’ve got two really tough games.”

Power said the games will be the first for Fenwick using its new offense at the Shootout.

“With two games at the McDonald’s Shootout, we feel it’s a great opportunity to play other teams,” Power said. “I always assume we’ll play somebody out of state.”

Against No. 14 Fremd (14-3), the Friars received top performances from Marek Burchett, who scored 27 points — including 6-for-8 on three-pointers — and Paige Corvino, who scored 16 points and had five three-pointers.

Fenwick will be without three-pointer shooter Mary Devereaux, who will miss three to four weeks after breaking her right hand in the Dundee-Crown semifinal loss to New Trier.

In last year’s Shootout, Fenwick defeated Morgan Park but lost to Carmel (Ind.) 75-61 to end an 11-game winning streak.

Partly due to the economy, McDonald’s Shootout tournament director Jim O’Boye was able to attract only two out-of-town teams this year. St. Joseph is joined by Oregon-Davis of Indiana, which plays Prospect on Saturday.

“We have fewer out-of-state teams,” O’Boye said. “Part of the problem is travel and expense that have hit teams. They don’t think they can come to Chicago and spend a night.”

O’Boye tries to accommodate out-of-state teams by arranging a discounted hotel rate.

Maine West and St. Ignatius are the only teams that have competed in the McDonald’s Shootout every year. Maine West mentor Derril Kipp is the only coach to have appeared in each Shootout.

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