
Teniya Page will lead No. 2 Marian Catholic in the 2014-15 season.
Photo by Randy Kemp
MaxPreps 2014-15 Illinois Girls Basketball Fab 5 presented by the Army National Guard
1. Whitney Young (Chicago)
2013-14 finish: 30-3
Coach: Corryne Irvin
The Dolphins have averaged 30 wins a year for the past three seasons, including a 34-0 state championship season in 2012 and a 30-3 season that ended in a state championship in 2014. Young lost just three players off of last year's squad and returns two of the top players in the state in guards
Tanita Allen and
Madinah Muhammad. Allen is a 5-10 small forward who has yet to declare her plans for next year while Muhammad is a 5-9 shooting guard who is headed to Ole Miss. The Dolphins also have one of the nation's top juniors in point guard
Kiara Lewis.
View last season's Illinois girls basketball rankings, presented by the Army National Guard2. Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights)2013-14 finish: 28-5
Coach: Dan Murray
Marian Catholic reached the Class 4A semifinals last year before dropping a 60-20 decision to eventual champion Whitney Young. Despite the loss, Marian Catholic figures to be one of the top teams in the state, thanks to the return of All-American candidate
Teniya Page, a 5-7 guard who is headed to Penn State next year. Page averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 assists per game in earning all-state third team honors by the Chicago Tribune. Marian Catholic also has another highly-coveted player in
Kauai Bradley, a wing who has committed to play at Pittsburgh next season.
View last season's Illinois girls basketball playoff brackets3. St. Thomas More (Champaign)2013-14 finish: 33-2
Coach: Chris Mennig
The Class 2A champion returns one of the state's top players in 6-foot-4 forward
Tori McCoy. A second team all-state selection by the Chicago Tribune, McCoy averaged 18.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. Just a junior, McCoy is considered one of the top 10 players in the class of 2016, according to the Tribune.
View last season's Illinois girls basketball stat leaders4. Joliet Catholic Academy2013-14 finish: 29-3
Coach: Kenny Battle
While Joliet Catholic Academy had four seniors on last year's Class 3A state runner-up team, the bulk of the squad was made up of sophomores and freshmen, including one of the best players in the class of 2016 in
Nicole Ekhomu. A 5-9 junior, Ekhomu is rated as one of the top juniors in the country by HoopGurlz. Joliet Catholic also has a pair of Division I recruits in sophomore forwards
Ty Battle (6-0) and
Jnaya Walker (6-0). Battle is the daughter of former NBA player Kenny Battle. He replaces head coach Ed Schodrof, who moved on to a coaching position at the college level after just one year as head coach at Joliet Academy.
View Illinois girls basketball pro photo galleries5. Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor)2013-14 finish: 19-3
Coach: Anthony Smith
The Vikings figure to have one of the top guard combinations in the state in All-American candidate
Faith Suggs and point guard
Bria Stallworth. Suggs will play at Duke next season while Stallworth has committed to Massachusetts.