Category: News
Jeff Vorva’s high school girls basketball rankings and player of the week for the Daily Southtown
Bloom and Providence move even closer to the top, while T.F. North enters the rankings.
Top 10
With records through Monday and previous rankings in parentheses.
1. Marist 5-0 (1)
Caroline Flynn and the red-hot RedHawks outscore their first five opponents 327-124.
2. Bloom 4-0 (3)
A 67-10 win over Rich Township raises eyebrows for Jayla Tyler and the Blazing Trojans.
3. Providence 5-0 (4)
Morris transfers Landrie and Layken Callahan are already making their presence felt.
4. Mother McAuley 3-1 (2)
Taji Alexa scores 31 points for Mighty Macs in home opener against Lake Zurich.
5. Lincoln-Way West 4-1 (7)
Molly Finn passes 1,000-point mark in her career during a 60-32 win over Oak Lawn.
6. Homewood-Flossmoor 3-2 (6)
Losses to powers Kenwood and Benet shouldn’t derail Aunyai Deere and talented Vikings.
7. T.F. South 7-1 (9)
Gigi Dillon barely misses triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine steals vs. Lakes.
8. T.F. North 4-0 (NR)
Lauryn Jackson already records three double-doubles for the Red Wolves.
9. Lincoln-Way East (10)
Sophomore forward Samantha Hellrung is starting to make some noise for the Griffins.
10. Lockport 2-2 (8)
Katie Peetz and Porters try to recover from downstate losses to Breese Central and O’Fallon.
Player of the Week
Senior guard Kamryn Turner scores 80 points and adds 14 assists and 11 steals in four games to help Bloom win the inaugural Rich Township Hardwood Classic.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Crown Point art teacher groped teen: charges
A Crown Point studio art teacher is accused of groping a 14-year-old girl.
Thomas Liubakka, 67, of Crown Point, is charged with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.
He posted a $3,000 cash bond on Nov. 26. His next court date is Dec. 10.
“We are deeply saddened by these accusations, and are eager to prove Mr. Liubakka’s innocence in court,” his lawyer Ferdinand Alvarez said in an email. “He remains, like every other individual facing charges in this State and country, absolutely innocent until proven guilty.”
The girl told a teacher at school, which called her mother, charges state.
The victim and her mother told police on Sept. 11, 2025 that when she signed up for a second year of classes in fall 2024 at Liubakka Studio, located at 225 S. Main St., in Crown Point, she was the only student in the class. The studio was housed in a church basement.
When she thought it was strange, Liubakka said the other students were still on summer or fall break. He declined the mother’s request to put the girl in another class, saying they were full.
During a Nov. 7 class, he took the victim upstairs to a computer lab that he said he planned to develop for his studio.
Liubakka locked the door, pushed her against a desk and touched her buttocks and hips. He touched her chest just before they left, documents state.
The girl “felt like she blacked out,” according to the affidavit.
Afterward, he acted like nothing had happened, charges allege. His assistant was not a work that day, the girl noted.
In retrospect, the girl alleged he was “creepy” and stared at her in class in a way that had nothing to do with her artwork. She felt he was testing boundaries and using “grooming” techniques.
She thought he was “safe” because he worked “with kids,” according to the affidavit.
The victim said she didn’t tell anyone for a year. At some point, she removed him from her Instagram page. Afterward, he repeatedly tried to follow her again.
In a police interview, he denied the allegations. When a detective asked if he would do a “voice stress analysis test,” Liubakka said he wanted to talk to a lawyer.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/01/crown-point-art-teacher-groped-teen-charges/
Anthony Davis anota 32 puntos en la victoria de los Mavericks 131-121 sobre los Nuggets
Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Anthony Davis anotó 32 puntos, su máximo de la temporada, en su segundo partido tras regresar de una lesión, y los Mavericks de Dallas vencieron el lunes por la noche 131-121 a los Nuggets de Denver.
El novato Ryan Nembhard logró 28 puntos y diez asistencias, ambos los mejores de su carrera, para ayudar a Dallas a ganar partidos consecutivos por primera vez esta temporada. Cooper Flagg añadió 24 puntos para Dallas, que acertó 16 de 31 tiros desde la línea de tres puntos.
La derrota fue la cuarta consecutiva en casa para Denver, tres de ellas contra equipos sin récords ganadores. También arruinó una noche de carrera para Spencer Jones, quien tuvo 28 puntos, y el undécimo triple-doble de la temporada de Nikola Jokic. Terminó con 29 puntos, 20 rebotes, su máximo de la temporada, y 13 asistencias.
Davis se perdió 14 partidos antes de regresar contra los Lakers el viernes por la noche. Se ausentó el sábado por la noche para mantenimiento, pero se mostró dominante en su séptimo partido de la temporada. Capturó 13 rebotes para igualar su máximo de la temporada.
___
Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Snapping out of a dry spell, Omar Saleh hits huge 3-pointer for Oak Lawn. His mindset? ‘Got to keep shooting.’
Senior forward Omar Saleh got the message Monday night for Oak Lawn.
His teammates and coaches have been imploring him to stop passing up open outside shots. Even after missing his first three 3-pointers, Saleh didn’t hesitate with the game on the line.
“You’ve just got to keep shooting,” Saleh said. “They’ll hit eventually. In the fourth quarter, with that one that really mattered, it fell.
“It felt great. My senior year, it’s great to end this Thanksgiving tournament with a win.”
Saleh made sure of that. His 3-pointer with 50 seconds left broke a tie and lifted the host Spartans to a 58-54 win over Crete-Monee in the championship game of the inaugural Len Scaduto Classic.
Jack Dempsey poured in 23 points to lead Oak Lawn (4-0). Marc Harvey finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Ben Delberto chipped in with six points.
Oak Lawn’s Omar Saleh (24) starts a fast break against Crete-Monee during the Len Scaduto Thanksgiving Classic championship game in Oak Lawn on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Steve Johnston / Daily Southtown)
Joe Jones scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Warriors (3-1). Zyheir Gardner and Uriel Chapman added nine points apiece, while Zyon Floyd contributed seven rebounds.
Saleh, meanwhile, grabbed nine rebounds and played tough defense inside. He finished with just five points, but Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes was thrilled to see Saleh take and make the biggest shot.
“Omar’s put in a lot of work on his 3-point shot,” Rhodes said. “This is great for him for that shot to fall in that spot. He hadn’t shot a 3-pointer in our first three games and he was passing them up in practice.
“We told him, ‘You’ve got to hit some threes for us.’”
Oak Lawn’s Omar Saleh (24) works toward the basket against Crete-Monee’s Joe Jones (11) during the Len Scaduto Thanksgiving Classic championship game in Oak Lawn on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Steve Johnston / Daily Southtown)
After Saleh’s 3-pointer, Harvey hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to seal the victory.
Saleh is part of what Dempsey called the Spartans’ “Big Three” of Dempsey, Saleh and Harvey. They’re the three returning starters who all have major experience.
Saleh has worked a long time to earn the right to be one of those guys.
“Growing up seeing Oak Lawn basketball grow to where it’s been at these last few years, it inspired me to be one of those seniors leading the way to keep that success going,” Saleh said. “I’m really excited to take on that role this year.”
Oak Lawn’s Jack Dempsey (3) puts up a 3-pointer against Crete-Monee during the Len Scaduto Thanksgiving Classic championship game in Oak Lawn on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Steve Johnston / Daily Southtown)
Saleh did not start playing basketball until sixth grade, but after his first year at Oak Lawn, he was all-in on the sport.
“I played football and volleyball my freshman year, in addition to basketball, but I gave it all up to focus on basketball after that,” he said. “It’s the culture. Freshman year, I watched those guys have so much fun and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
“I decided to pour all of my soul into basketball.”
Dempsey sees Saleh as a glue guy who can do all the little things for the Spartans. But when he can do the biggest things? Even better.
“Omar knew that he’d have to be good on the glass, defense and rebounding, but we’ve been on his tail a bit about passing up open shots,” Dempsey said. “He had the confidence and the mindset to take that shot in that situation. That was great to see.”
Oak Lawn’s Omar Saleh (24) drives to the basket against Crete-Monee during the Len Scaduto Thanksgiving Classic championship game in Oak Lawn on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Steve Johnston / Daily Southtown)
When Oak Lawn and Reavis decided to end the long-running Spartan-Ram Classic and hold separate tournaments, Oak Lawn made the decision to name its new event after Scaduto, who died in May. The Hall of Fame coach won over 400 games at the school.
“He was a pillar of the basketball community and definitely deserving,” Rhodes said. “And it’s obviously great that we won the first one.”
Thanks to Saleh believing in his shot.
“It’s all about the extra work that I’ve put in,” Saleh said. “So I could be ready for chances like that.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/01/omar-saleh-oak-lawn-crete-monee-ihsa-boys-basketball/
Drake Maye lanza dos TDs y Patriots son el primer equipo con 11 victorias al ganar 33-15 a Giants
Por KYLE HIGHTOWER
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts, EE.UU. (AP) — Drake Maye lanzó dos pases de anotación, Marcus Jones tuvo un regreso de patada de despeje de 94 yardas para touchdown y los Patriots de Nueva Inglaterra se convirtieron en el primer equipo de la NFL en alcanzar 11 triunfos esta temporada, al vencer 33-15 a los Giants de Nueva York el lunes por la noche.
Fue la décima victoria consecutiva para los Patriots, líderes de la AFC (11-2), la racha más larga de la franquicia desde que ganaron diez juegos consecutivos en 2015. El entrenador Mike Vrabel también se convirtió en el tercer coach desde 1970 en tener una racha de victorias de diez o más juegos en su primera temporada con un equipo.
Maye completó 24 de 31 pases para 282 yardas sin intercepciones.
Los Giants (2-11) perdieron su séptimo juego consecutivo, y el tercero en fila desde que despidieron a Brian Daboll como head coach. El quarterback novato Jaxson Dart regresó después de perderse dos juegos debido a una conmoción cerebral, pero no había mucho que pudiera hacer.
Dart lanzó un pase de touchdown a Darius Slayton y terminó 17 de 24 para 139 yardas. Devin Singletary añadió una carrera de touchdown.
Dart jugó con su estilo habitual en su regreso. En una segunda oportunidad en la segunda serie ofensiva del equipo, Dart corrió hacia la banca de Nueva York e intentó caminar de puntillas por la línea lateral para ganar yardas extra.
Esto lo dejó expuesto a un golpe limpio en el abdomen por el linebacker de los Patriots, Christian Elliss, quien envió a Dart con fuerza al suelo. La entrada contundente provocó un breve altercado entre varios jugadores.
No se lanzaron pañuelos por la acción de Elliss, pero tras una discusión entre los oficiales, el ala cerrada de los Giants, Theo Johnson, fue sancionado por rudeza innecesaria por su papel en el altercado posterior a la jugada.
Dart no fue evaluado tras el golpe y permaneció en el juego para la siguiente jugada.
Después de que los Patriots tomaron una ventaja de 17-0 con un pase de touchdown de tres yardas de Maye a Kayshon Boutte, Dart encontró tracción en la tercera posesión de los Giants y culminó una serie de seis jugadas y 62 yardas con un pase de touchdown de recepción y carrera a Slayton que cubrió 30 yardas.
La defensiva de los Giants comenzó bien el juego, manteniendo a los Patriots en un gol de campo en la primera posesión del juego en su primer partido bajo la dirección del coordinador interino Charlie Bullen. Bullen fue ascendido al rol después de que Shane Bowen fuera despedido 12 juegos en su segunda temporada.
No duró.
Perdiendo 10-0 después del regreso de patada de despeje para touchdown de Jones y una rápida serie de tres y fuera que incluyó el golpe de Elliss a Dart, Maye utilizó un pase de 36 yardas a Hunter Henry para preparar su pase de touchdown a Boutte.
Nueva Inglaterra lideró 30-7 al medio tiempo, marcando la primera vez desde la semana 17 de la temporada 2009 que los Giants permitieron 30 puntos en la primera mitad.
Banca de nuevo
El linebacker novato de los Giants, Abdul Carter, no jugó en el primer cuarto por lo que el entrenador Mike Kafka le dijo a ESPN en el medio tiempo que fue decisión del entrenador. Es la segunda vez que la selección número 3 del draft es enviado a la banca por razones disciplinarias. Anteriormente fue dejado fuera de la primera serie de la derrota de Nueva York el 16 de noviembre ante Green Bay.
___
Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 4th consecutive road loss, including a staggering 7-player injury list
ORLANDO, Fla. — The tank is empty.
The Chicago Bulls are long past running on fumes. For weeks they’ve been cruising downhill while averting their eyes from the gauge sitting on “E,” hoping a miracle would allow them to make it one more block, one more exit before clunking to a standstill.
There isn’t another choice. The Bulls are down to three members of their typical starting lineup. By the end of Monday’s 125-120 loss to the Orlando Magic, their injury report listed seven absences. But the NBA schedule doesn’t stop — or slow — for any team. What they have simply will have to do.
Against the Magic, that was enough for three quarters — and nothing more.
The Bulls did all they could. They built a 15-point lead on sharpshooting from Ayo Dosunmu and dogged finishing from Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey. When Kevin Huerter went to the locker room with an adductor injury six minutes into his outing as a starter, Tre Jones filled in eagerly.
But in the final two minutes of the third quarter, the engine started to choke.
It was the pressure that did it. The Magic were unrelenting on the boards, at the perimeter and in the open court. They poked and prodded at the ball, baiting the Bulls into technical fouls and frustrated errors as the lead bled away. The lead changed five times in the fourth quarter as Orlando racked up 40 points to close the game at a dead sprint.
“It sucks,” center Nikola Vučević said. “I don’t know exactly the reasons why we have so many injuries, but it’s frustrating to see guys go down. You feel for them. You know how much work they put in, how much time they put into their bodies to be ready to play, and when it happens like that it’s frustrating.
“But it is what it is. We have to move on.”
The Bulls landed in Orlando with an extensive injury report and played Monday without Coby White (left calf strain), Isaac Okoro (back), Jalen Smith (hamstring) and Dalen Terry (calf strain). They suffered another loss when Huerter was ruled out.
Center Zach Collins is working his way back from a wrist fracture but hasn’t been cleared to play. That leaves the Bulls with only five members of their preferred 10-man rotation. To add insult, rookie Noa Essengue is sidelined with a shoulder injury, preventing the Bulls from finding even a slim silver lining from their current situation.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. Losing the boards
Magic guard Desmond Bane grabs an offensive rebound away from Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) and forward Matas Buzelis during the first half Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
As the ball arced downward toward the rim midway through the second quarter, Desmond Bane lowered his shoulder and pushed. Bane wasn’t subtle about it. He pressed both hands flat against Giddey’s torso, knocking into the taller Bulls guard with his shoulder before extending his arm.
It took only two bumps for Bane to displace Giddey off the low block — where he should have held superior positioning to secure the ricocheting ball — and knock him against the baseline. Giddey stood a full arm’s length away when Bane grabbed the rebound, giving the Magic guard plenty of room to toss in a simple layup.
These types of miniature errors in boxing out hounded the Bulls, who gave up 12 offensive rebounds. They were fortunate Orlando converted them into only 15 second-chance points.
But more than half of those points occurred in the fourth quarter as the Bulls failed to maintain the energy of the first half, giving up five offensive rebounds in the fourth. A series of second-chance opportunities — including a spray-out 3 by Bane off consecutive offensive rebounds and a put-back dunk by Wendell Carter Jr. — served as the final nails in the loss.
Coach Billy Donovan felt the Bulls gave better effort on the defensive boards than in previous games, but that didn’t match the results in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we did a good job physically because they’re a big, strong, physical team,” Donovan said. “I felt like we were finding a way to manufacture enough points, but those rebounds could have really helped us build a lead out a little bit. In particular, that stretch there hurt us.”
2. Failure to launch
Magic guard Anthony Black blocks a shot by Bulls guard Josh Giddey during the second half Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Somewhere between takeoff and landing at the rim, the Bulls often seem to run out of steam. They take the most attempts inside the restricted area (32.8 per game) of any team in the league. But once they reach the rim, the Bulls struggle to capitalize. Their 60.4% shooting percentage in the restricted area is the second-worst in the league.
One key source of inefficiency is allowing opponents to affect the shot. Teams average 6.1 blocks per game against the Bulls, and that number rose to 6.6 per game in November, the highest in the league. The trend continued against the Magic, who tallied 11 blocks, including four by Goga Bitadze.
These stops were sudden and equal-opportunity. Jalen Suggs scooped away a Jones attempt at a reverse layup. Bitadze slapped the ball off the backboard in transition. Jonathan Isaac tailed Buzelis and extended one long arm up, up and over the smaller forward to poke away his fadeaway attempt.
The Bulls shot 65.5% inside the restricted area. Nine of their 10 misses were blocked shots.
3. Big minutes for Lachlan Olbrich
The injury pileup translated into significant minutes for two-way players Lachlan Olbrich and Emanuel Miller, who both made their first appearances in the first quarter.
Olbrich, a second-round draft pick, is an unproven option in the frontcourt for the Bulls, who planned to have the rookie spend most, if not all, of his debut season with Windy City in the G League. Instead, Olbrich was thrust into the secondary rotation to add needed size for the Bulls, playing a total of 12 minutes.
Although Olbrich didn’t score, his production on the boards (four rebounds) and as a physical antagonist to the bullying Magic was a helpful addition off the bench.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/01/chicago-bulls-orlando-magic-injuries-takeaways/
America’s Poison Melting Pot And The Luxury Of Tolerance
America’s Poison Melting Pot And The Luxury Of Tolerance
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,
Modern western culture is an absolute anomaly in the history of human civilization. If one studies the principles and doctrines of nearly every other society and empire around the world, you will not find one that allows mass immigration of foreigners with contrary ideologies.
You will not find one that allows foreigners to migrate without strict assimilation and loyalty.
From the Arab states, to China, South Korea, and Japan (until recently), to India and beyond, every culture maintains a strict sense of supremacy. There is an absolute expectation that newcomers will adapt to political policies, belief systems, social norms, etc. Most of the world for thousands of years has operated in this way. Only the modern west deviates and only the west is chastised as “xenophobic” for establishing barriers to foreign influence.
The US in particular has been typecast as a “global melting pot”, even though the vast majority of immigration up until the last half of the 20th century was from other western nations with similar beliefs and traditions. The melting pot theory was largely promoted and glorified by socialist elites in the early 1900s and was not a value of the common American.
Israel Zangwill (a British-Jewish Broadway playwright and devout socialist/supporter of feminism) popularized the term nationally in 1908. Even then, he spoke specifically about various European cultures coming to America.
The “melting pot” was never about inviting millions of people from the third-world with utterly exclusive and hostile ideologies. This notion did not become popular until recently.
What happened? When did it become America’s “duty” to adopt the problem children of the rest of the planet? And why is western civilization the only civilization that is expected to be submissive to the concept of multiculturalism?
This topic is at the very root of nearly every political conflict raging today. The ICE raids, the foreign travel bans, the use of the National Guard to deter organized interference of deportations, the recent terror attack in Washington DC, the increasing calls by Democrats and woke activists for violent “resistance” – All of it goes back to the notion that America is SUPPOSED to welcome anyone and everyone, legal or illegal, from any part of the world regardless of the threat they might pose to our society.
Progressives, for various reasons, furiously insist that America is THE melting pot. That this is our national heritage and that anyone who says otherwise is a “fascist” trying to fundamentally change our cultural foundations.
NGOs and globalist foundations spend billions of dollars to facilitate mass immigration to the US, often in violation of the will of the voting public and the administrations in power. They also fund the majority of activist groups trying to disrupt deportations.
Global governance organizations like the UN spend vast sums of money to enable illegal immigration into the US, providing subsidies, maps, and legal advice to migrants seeking to sneak into America or exploit loopholes for temporary residency.
A number of foreign governments (mainly India and Mexico) lobby the US government to open the floodgates, expanding visa programs and allowing non-citizens to take American jobs, housing and other resources.
The “melting pot” has been poisoned with a rancid cocktail of nefarious agendas. Any positive vestiges of the ideal have been lost. Any value the melting pot might have once had is gone. All that is left is an army of parasites looking for blood; a swarm of mosquitoes rushing in to latch onto a vein. Few if any of these people or institutions care about the “American Dream”, they only see the US as an easy target ripe for conquest.
We have made ourselves an easy target. Our faith in liberalism has led us down a dark path of suicidal empathy. We naively assumed that “tolerance” is a virtue; it is not. Tolerance is a luxury – A luxury for the ultra wealthy and the extraordinarily dimwitted.
No other culture on Earth worships tolerance like westerners do, and there’s a good reason for that. In the case of the US, our ancestors already invested their blood and tears and treasure into this nation to make it the most wealthy and successful in the world. We have been living off their labors for generations.
The people that want to give that civilizational wealth away are people who lack respect for the trials and tribulations required to obtain it.
Another problem is that our tolerance often goes unappreciated because it is not a virtue for any other culture, either. The third world sees tolerance as weakness and opportunity. Many foreign social belief systems, from Judaism, to Hinduism to Islam, carry an ancient code of tribalism, an insider/outsider mentality of supremacy which is admonished in modern western thought but tolerated in immigrants.
For third worlders, a culture which is tolerant is fair game for exploitation and perhaps even invasion. You will consistently see foreign groups in the US argue that they are indeed American, but at the same time they will declare allegiance to their nation of origin. Their love of America is based on their love of the WEALTH they can derive from America. They’re laughing all the way to the closest Western Union.
Most have no interest in our principles and our heritage. They see America as an economic zone, a global commons with resources to be tapped. In other words, foreigners see immigration as a fishing business, a means to gain access to a largely unprotected wealth pool created by a culture with more historic merit and more success. They have been gathering their nets for quite some time.
In 2024 the US government under Joe Biden spent over $72 billion on foreign aid with another $26 billion in supplementals. India and Mexico transfer around $100 billion total in remittance from the US each year (foreign workers sending money back home). A number of officials with ethnic roots in these countries regularly argue in favor of continued visas and mass immigration while claiming it’s “for the good of Americans.”
Again, their loyalty is to their culture of origin first and America last.
For progressives and globalists immigration is also about wealth, primarily the redistribution of it from middle-class and upper-class Americans into foreign coffers. They see the common American people (conservatives) as a thorn in their side that needs to be removed. The draining of our buying power and living standards is a stepping stone to cultural deconstruction.
Mass immigration is a tool for social change. Multiculturalism erases national pride and the concept of protected borders. For if we are overwhelmed by the third world, who is going to care about maintaining the borders of our nation anymore? We might as well let the whole thing collapse, right?
They openly admit to this agenda, it’s not a secret. The question is, what are we going to do about it?
Black-pilled nihilists will say that we’ll “do nothing”, but I’m not really interested in the opinions of conservatives who have given up. They are just as responsible for our troubles as progressives. They are weaklings and cowards.
Donald Trump’s recent declaration of a ban on third world immigration is at least bringing the topic to the average American dinner table. It’s been a long time since we had a real national reexamination of the “melting pot” idea. And, from my observations the use of mass deportations is gathering vast support among the American public.
I really don’t think officials living in the bubble of DC or mainstream journalists suffering from delusions of influence realize just how deep the anger goes when it comes to foreign exploitation and foreign influence over American society. I would suggest that there are tens of millions of patriots on the verge of walking out the door tomorrow to wage war on leftists and illegal immigrants should the obstructions of deportations continue.
The naysayers just don’t get how fed up people are becoming. Third world enclaves in places like Minneapolis and Dearborne don’t get it, either. Our tolerance is rapidly melting away, faster than the melting pot can be filled. The era of liberalism is over. The era of western multiculturalism is about to be stamped out. Mark my words, we are on the precipice of a reckoning.
* * *
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Tyler Durden
Mon, 12/01/2025 – 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/americas-poison-melting-pot-and-luxury-tolerance
Basketball and local scores for the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County
High school and local college results and highlights from the Southland, Aurora, Elgin, Naperville and Lake County coverage areas.
Email Daily Southtown results to southtownsports@gmail.com, Beacon-News, Courier-News and Naperville Sun results to tribwestsports@gmail.com and News-Sun results to newssunsports@gmail.com.
WEDNESDAY’S EVENTS
HIGH SCHOOLS
FOOTBALL
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Huskie Stadium, DeKalb
CLASS 8A
No. 1 Mount Carmel (13-0) vs. No. 11 Oswego (11-2), 6 p.m.
CLASS 7A
No. 25 St. Rita (9-4) vs. No. 6 Brother Rice (12-1), 3 p.m.
SATURDAY’S EVENT
LOCAL COLLEGES
FOOTBALL
NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS
Third Round
Wisconsin La Crosse (9-2) at North Central College (11-0), noon.
MONDAY’S RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOLS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Eisenhower 72, Hancock 49
Eisenhower (2-1): Logan Costa 15 points. Logan Tasciotti 14 points.
Morton 65, Tinley Park 39
Plano 68, Hinckley-Big Rock 44
Plano (1-3): Alan Contreras 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds. Kevin Martinez 14 points, 11 rebounds. Cooper Beaty 13 points, 7 rebounds. Ethan Taxis 11 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals.
Hinckley-Big Rock (0-1): Marshall Ledbetter 15 points, 5 rebounds. Luke Badal 8 points, 9 rebounds.
Thornwood 78, Chicago Vocational 38
AURORA CHRISTIAN BURNEY WILKE CLASSIC
Aurora Christian 75, Harvest-Westminster 48
Aurora Christian (4-0): Preston Morel 23 points. Luke Baumann 16 points. Jacob Baumann 15 points.
IMSA 66, St. Edward 49
IMSA (2-1): Lota Owamezee 23 points. Neil Sitapara 21 points.
OAK LAWN LEN SCADUTO CLASSIC
Oak Lawn 58, Crete-Monee 54, championship
Andrew 58, Bremen 56, third
Andrew (2-2): Hisham Massad 16 points, 5 rebounds. Ryan Dinnon 13 points, 9 rebounds. Malik Mahmoud 11 points.
ST. CHARLES EAST RON JOHNSON TOURNAMENT
St. Charles North 54, St. Charles East 52
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ag. Science 36, Ag. Science 21
Crete-Monee 45, Thornwood 17
Crete (3-2, 1-0 Southland): Jada Franklin 14 points. Kimora Darby 9 points.
Kankakee 83, Thornridge 31
Richards 37, Kennedy 34
Richards (3-2): Ameera Martin 14 points. Piper Egan 8 points.
Stagg 43, Shepard 28
Stevenson 62, Zion-Benton 22
Sycamore 68, Aurora Central Catholic 50
T.F. South 60, Whiting (Ind.) 16
Warren 40, Lakes 32
LOCAL COLLEGES
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Indianapolis 80, Lewis 67
Lewis (0-5, 0-1 GLVC): Ryan Hall 28 points, 4 rebounds. Collin Albert 10 points.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Lewis 63, Indianapolis 49
Lewis (2-5, 1-0 GLVC): Yahaira Bueno 15 points, 6 rebounds. Jasmine Jones 13 points, 6 rebounds. Gabi Hoover 11 points.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
HIGH SCHOOLS
BOYS BASKETBALL
HANCOCK TOURNAMENT
St. Laurence 69, Richards 40, championship
St. Laurence (4-0): Reggie Stevens 21 points. Markese Peoples 15 points. Noah Coro 12 points. Jeremiah Toney 10 points.
Richards (3-1): Messiah Horton 12 points, 5 rebounds. Jordan Shaw 10 points, 10 rebounds.
Evergreen Park 69, St. Rita 66
Evergreen (3-1): Lenear Bolton 30 points. James Lee 13 points.
St. Rita 64, Hancock 55
Hancock 48, Tinley Park 44
PEKIN SHOOTOUT
IMSA 57, Pekin 48
IMSA (1-1): Lota Owamezee 21 points. Omar Njikam 19 points.
WINDY CITY TURKEY CLASSIC
At St. Ignatius
St. Ignatius 69, Benet 65, championship
Benet (3-1): Jayden Wright 19 points. Colin Stack 14 points. Ethan MacDermot 14 points.
De La Salle 73, Hope Academy 58
De La Salle (2-2): Lucas Johnson 27 points. Caleb Henry 13 points.
Compiled by Josh Krockey.
After proving she score points, Missouri S-T commit Abbey Hobart helps Stagg on defense too. ‘Want to lock in.’
Last season, Stagg’s Abbey Hobart solidified her credentials as an offensive threat.
That’s when she eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, scored a program-record tying 37 points in a game and then followed it up with 36 points the next outing.
This season, she’s also working on becoming a presence on the other end of the court.
“I really want to lock in on defense,” Hobart said. “It’s always about watching and reading where the next pass is going to go.”
Hobart was locked in on defense and loaded up on offense Monday night. The senior guard scored 16 points — including 14 in the first half — to lead the Chargers to a 43-28 nonconference victory over host Shepard in Palos Heights.
Stagg (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by recording 22 steals, with 11 in each half. Hobart had six, followed by Juliane Roupas with five and Victoria Bedziechowski with four.
Stagg’s Abbey Hobart (14) goes in for the layup against Shepard during a nonconference game in Palos Heights on Monday Dec. 1, 2025. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)
Abby Ellsworth added 11 points and sank a 3-pointer with 2:06 left in the first half to put the Chargers ahead 21-15. Before that, neither team held more than a four-point lead.
Stagg went on to take a 27-16 halftime lead and didn’t look back.
“I’ve always liked shooting threes,” Ellsworth said. “It’s fun when they go in.”
Savannah Conrad paced Shepard (3-3) with 13 points. Jessica Manley scored eight of her 12 points in the first quarter.
Stagg’s Abby Ellsworth (5) looks to make a play against Shepard during a nonconference game in Palos Heights on Monday Dec. 1, 2025. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)
Even though the season is still young for Stagg, the 5-foot-8 Hobart has been waves. She was named to all-tournament team at Hinsdale Central and signed to play at Missouri S&T.
Stagg coach Allee Hernandez confirmed that Hobart’s desire to play in college has made her into a better defensive player.
“It’s definitely an improvement,” Hernandez said of Hobart’s defense. “Defense has been something we’ve been stressing since the jump this season because we know we have athletes.
“The improvement was something I noticed when she came back from her travel team in the summer. She told me it was a part of her game that she wanted to pick up to get prepared for college basketball.”
Stagg’s Juliane Roupas (1) looks to pass against Shepard during a nonconference game in Palos Heights on Monday Dec. 1, 2025. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)
Hernandez pointed out the key to defense is having a high basketball IQ, which Hobart possesses.
“You have to be able to read the floor and see where the passes are going,” Hernandez said. “A lot of it is not necessarily on-ball steal. It can be a teammate getting on-ball pressure and when they go to throw the pass, it’s reading that pass.
“Defense is a huge teamwork game. You all have to be on the same page.”
It’s still a work in progress.
After allowing 28 points in a season-opening win over Wheaton North, the Chargers gave up 54 points to Hinsdale Central, 54 to Neuqua Valley and 61 to Freeport before clamping down on the Astros.
Stagg’s Abbey Hobart (14) pushes the ball up the court against Shepard during a nonconference game in Palos Heights on Monday Dec. 1, 2025. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)
“I think we have a lot of potential,” Hobart said. “Our record doesn’t necessarily show it, but I think we can do a lot of things this year.
“It’s a fun team and everyone works hard and wants to get better. We all want to win. We have a lot of young talent on the team as well. We just have to get used to playing with each other.”
Hobart started playing basketball after watching her brothers at St. Alexander in Palos Heights, and when it was time for her to suit up, great things happened. She was teammates with Mother McAuley’s Quinn Arundel and the team was unbeaten in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
Aside from scoring, and now defense, Hobart brings some other qualities to the Chargers.
“She’s a great leader on the team,” Ellsworth said. “She helps everyone out. She’s always there if you need a helping hand.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/01/abbey-hobart-stagg-shepard-ihsa-girls-basketball/
Argentina: Racing y Gimnasia La Plata avanzan a semifinales
Por HERNÁN ALVAREZ
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Racing de Avellaneda venció por penales a Tigre y Gimnasia La Plata, a Barracas Central en los 90 reglamentarios el lunes por los cuartos de final del torneo Clausura del fútbol argentino.
Racing superó por 4-2 a Tigre en la definición desde el punto penal después del empate 0-0 en 120 minutos. El disparo de la tanda fue convertido por el zaguero Agustín García Basso.
La Academia se medirá contra Boca Juniors en semifinales. Los xeneizes habían derrotado por 1-0 a Argentinos Juniors en La Bombonera el domingo.
En tanto, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata venció como visitante a Barracas Central por 2-0 y se medirá en semis con Estudiantes en el clásico de la ciudad capital de la provincia de Buenos Aires. El sábado, los pincharratas habían superado por 1-0 a Central Córdoba en el estadio Madre de Ciudades.
El primer tiempo en Avellaneda fue muy flojo. Hubo muy pocas acciones en las áreas.
En el complemento, Racing fue con más decisión en la búsqueda del desnivel. Los locales contaron con más de una ocasión. La más clara la tuvo Adrián Martínez al disparar débil para el control del arquero Felipe Zenobio a los 82.
Pese al ataque racinguista constante y los contragolpes esporádicos de la visita, no hubo goles en el tiempo reglamentario.
Fue expulsado Ramón Arias (Tigre) a los 90+4 por un foul desde atrás.
En el alargue, el cotejo quedó 10 contra 10 por la roja de Gastón Martirena en el local a los 99.
El equipo de Costas perdió otro jugador a los 116 por la doble amonestación del capitán Santiago Sosa.
Alfio Oviedo (Tigre) cabeceó alto a los 119, mientras “Maravilla” Martínez tuvo otra chance a los 122, pero su disparo se fue por arriba.
Se tuvo que llegar a la definición por penales para decidir un triunfador. Allí, los racinguistas lograron convertir sus cuatro tiros. Adrián Martínez, Adrián Fernández, Gabriel Rojas y García Basso anotaron para La Academia. El tiro del visitante Tomás Cardona, el primero de su formación, fue desviado por el portero Facundo Cambeses. El guardameta local también despejó el disparo de Joaquín Laso, el tercero de la serie tigrense. Diego Sosa y Julián López convirtieron para el cuadro de Victoria.
“Había que asegurar. Facu (Cambeses) nos dio la seguridad. Cada uno que les tocó lo hizo muy bien. Fue un partido durísimo”, dijo García Basso. “Este año no nos tocó convertir tanto. El fin es ganar”.
“Tenemos un grupo muy unido”, afirmó Cambeses.
Con respecto al partido de semifinales que le espera a Racing, el guardameta comentó: “La llave de Boca estuvo muy pareja. Es un rival durísimo. Es su cancha”.
El guardameta chileno Gabriel Arias, que termina su vínculo con el club racinguista en este 2025, fue homenajeado por la entidad local. Arias disputó 245 partidos en el arco blanquiceleste desde su llegada en 2018.
Sobre el egreso de Arias, Facundo Cambeses afirmó: “Con Gabi soy un agradecido. Es un capitán con todas las letras”.
En la cancha de Barracas, Manuel Panaro marcó el primer tanto tripero con un toque en el área chica a los 21. La anotación fue confirmada tras una revisión en el VAR.
El segundo gol gimnasista llegó cuando Franco Torres logró definir bien de zurda a los 92.
