Six high school girls basketball teams to watch for the 2023-24 season

When the Lincoln girls basketball team advanced to the Class 3A state tournament last season — where the Railsplitters finished fourth — with a starting five of all juniors, it was easy to pencil in the Railers for another deep run in the 2024 postseason.

A 6-0 run through November did nothing to squash those hopes for Lincoln, either.

But The State Journal-Register's coverage area has more than just one team vying for a state trophy this season and many more competing for conference, regional and sectional titles.

The SJ-R gives you a look at just some of the top teams in the Springfield area.

Lincoln

The Railers didn’t lose last season until the Class 3A state championship game, a 63-52 decision to LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy — which will compete in 4A this year due to the success factor for non-boundaried schools. Lincoln returns all five starters from a season ago: the 2023 Ms. Basketball of Illinois runner-up Kloe Froebe, guards Taryn Stoltzenburg, Becca Heitzig and Jenna Bowman as well as forward Tori Geriets. Those seniors will be aided by junior Piper Whiteman, who was the ‘Splitters’ top bench player. Even a return to the Central State Eight Conference shouldn’t damper Lincoln’s goals. Froebe (first team) and Bowman (special mention) were both Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-state selections.

More: Froebe sets scoring record, secures Lincoln's spot for 3A title

Taylorville

A 20-win team a season ago (22-9), the Tornadoes bring back all but one player due to graduation, including all five starters. Addison Tarr was an IBCA all-state special mention in 3A last season but tore an ACL at the end of the campaign. She’s averaging 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals despite limited play in her return from the injury. She’s joined by Mazie Fleming, a 6-foot-4 junior center. She averaged 8.6 ppg and 7.2 rebounds a season ago but carried averages of 11.3 ppg, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks during the month of November. Junior Kyleigh Heimsness (8.2 points, 2.8 assists, 2.5 steals), senior Aubrey Kietzman (7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals), and senior Olivia Woodward. Despite a 6-1 start, Taylorville coach Hayden Eldred said he “still feels like we have not played our best.”

Sacred Heart-Griffin

The Cyclones return their top six scorers from last season, including seniors Callie Huston (10.6 ppg, 4.0 rebounds) and Maggie Fleischli (9.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.2 assists). SHG’s top two 3-point shooters in 2022-23 are also back: junior Izzy Hassebrock (who won the Class 1A individual girls golf championship earlier this fall; she made 33 3s on 31% shooting last season) and senior Caroline Lambert (29 made 3s). Reese Watson, a junior, added 14 3s a season ago. Fleischli, a forward, attacks the basket while the Cyclones’ have two solid post players in Huston and junior center Sophie Murphy. SHG went 26-7 a season ago and finished 16-2 in the Central State Eight Conference.

More: Ten girls high school girls basketball players to watch for the 2023-24 season

Havana

The Ducks lost their top scorers from last season's 32-4 team that made the Class 1A supersectional round. Josie Hughes, a junior, was Havana's top scorer in a 58-45 loss to Okawville in the Mount Sterling Brown County Supersectional. The Ducks’ run in the postseason was all the more impressive after the team lost its second-leading scorer, Kaity Robison, and its top bench player, Angel Cleer, to injuries just before the regular season ended. Hughes, an IBCA all-state special mention in Class 1A, averaged 12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals last season on 42.6% shooting and was 70% at the free-throw line. Senior Jaylynn Sarnes and sophomore Kaydi Miller (both 4.0 points per game in 2022-23), are back after gaining a lot of experience. Miller moves in from a bench role to the starting lineup.

Pleasant Plains

The Cardinals (23-7) won 20 games last season for the first time since they captured the Class 2A state championship in 2020 (2021 had an abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Sophomore forward Anna Weber has emerged as one of the area's top players already, averaging 13.5 points on 36% shooting through eight games — quite the increase from a 6.6 ppg average as a freshman. She's also averaging 16.5 rebounds per game — including a Moses Malone-like 6.3 per game on the offensive glass. Sophomore guard Bailey Leach (10.0 ppg), sophomore forward Madison Burke (8.1 ppg), senior guard Adi Fraase (6.9 ppg) and sophomore forward Grace Sabatka (6.1 ppg) are showing this season's Cardinals can get their scoring from a variety of sources.

More: Here are The State Journal-Register's top-24 girls basketball players for 2022-23

Petersburg PORTA

The Bluejays’ leading scorer (senior Jayce Privia, 15.6 ppg through five games) is also the team’s top playmaker (5.4 assists). While it's early, she's also improved on her averages of 11.8 and 3.3 last season when she was named IBCA all-state special mention in Class 2A when PORTA went 27-2 (the Bluejays’ second straight 20-win season). Senior Karlie Hoke, who averaged 9.7 ppg last season, is up to 12.2 and 6.0 rebounds per game. Junior Carson Arthalony is averaging 9.8 ppg and a team-high 7.4 rpg while junior Cassie Cox is pulling down 6.8 boards per game. The team is also crashing the offensive glass with 46 rebounds, creating extra possessions. PORTA excelled there a year ago with 306 offensive rebounds out of a team total of 791 boards.

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA girls basketball teams to watch around the Springfield area in 2023-24