Carmel senior point guard Josie Hartman pulled her teammates together for a pep talk at halftime on Thursday.

Standing in a circle with them underneath the basket, Hartman wanted to send a strong message.

“I told them to keep going, keep the energy up, and we have a good lead,” she said. “I wanted to keep playing hard in the last half and for us to play together.”

Hartman teammates responded with a big second half that propelled the second-seeded Corsairs to a 53-36 victory over third-seeded Waukegan in the Class 4A McHenry Regional championship game.

Freshman guard/forward Liv Johnson‘s 25 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs, paced Carmel (23-9), which won its first regional title in 4A and advances to play top-seeded Hononegah (26-7) in the Rockford Guilford Sectional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Junior guard Maliyah Mays and senior forward Maron Bowes each scored nine points, and Hartman added eight.

Junior guard Alliaya Cade led the Bulldogs (19-11) with 18 points, and senior forward Hadassah Brown added 10 points.

With an Illinois assistant in attendance to watch Johnson, the 5-foot-9 Hartman ran the offense with precision, steadying her teammates and spreading the floor with her ball movement. The Bulldogs pressured her, but she maintained her poise.

Hartman also held Waukegan senior guard Alexy Chapa, who had missed nearly two weeks with an injury, to one point in the first 24 minutes.

“Josie has been playing great,” Carmel coach Ben Berg said. “Her season has been uneven, but she’s really picked it up in the last month, especially scoring the ball. She is our leader. When things kind of go crazy, she calms us. She did a great job on defense.

“She’s such a smart player, probably one of the most intelligent players I’ve ever coached in any sport.”

Hartman, a three-sport athlete who won’t play one in college, entered the game averaging 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals. As a scorer, she plays a secondary role to the 6-foot-1 Johnson, who has 11 college offers and went into the game averaging 18.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals and had made a team-high 48 3-pointers.

But Hartman set the tone with a gliding layup just three seconds into the game. She added a runner in the lane to pad Carmel’s lead to 44-24 late in the third quarter.

“I think it’s my last run, and I want to give it all I’ve got,” Hartman said. “I feel like my experience is helpful to the team. It all comes down to my freshman year and being a little nervous. Throughout the years, I’ve gained more confidence.

“I can trust my teammates. I don’t have to score in double digits and can make it up in other ways, like getting assists and playing defense.”

Johnson, whose father, Lucas, played for Illinois, said Hartman’s impact is clear.

“I think Josie’s leadership is a big thing,” Johnson said. “She has really helped me and been a good leader to help the team.”

Bowes pointed to Hartman’s leadership too.

“She is always does a good job of picking everyone up when their mood or energy is bad,” Bowes said. “I’m the same age as her, but I see her as a big role model.”

Hartman said she’s driven to lead the Corsairs deep into the playoffs, especially after watching her older sister Anna play a key role in the team’s run to the 3A state title in 2022.

“I was in the stands for every game when my sister played here, so to get this opportunity is amazing,” Hartman said. “I’m excited for the rest of the playoffs. We have a great team.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/19/4a-high-school-basketball-waukegan-carmel-josie-hartman/