THURSDAY'S ILLINOIS PREP ROUNDUP: Beecher girls clinch share of River Valley Conference title

The Times No. 3 Beecher Ladycats clinched a share of the River Valley Conference title with St. Anne after disposing of Donovan 60-16 in girls basketball action Thursday night.

Amari Griffin led the attack with 28 points, nine rebounds -- six offensive -- and eight steals.

Beecher (20-6, 11-1) also got a lift from Danielle Snuckel, who scored 11 points while going 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

The Ladycats only committed four turnovers while, at the other end of the floor, clawed the opposition for 28 steals.

Paige Wehling and Rachel Lee set up their teammates with seven and six assists, respectively, for Beecher.

Homewood-Flossmoor 44, Sandburg 33: Danielle Woolfolk had a team-high 10 points to lead the No. 1 Vikings (18-7) to the win.

Bloom Township 49, Crete-Monee 33: Bria Gaines' 34 points were all that the Blazing Trojans needed, though Katherine Strong, Chantel Malone and Mariah Middleton also contributed to Bloom Township's scoring column.

Thornton 47, Bradley-Bourbonnais 41: Georgetta Reid scored 22 points while going 4-of-5 from 3-point land to lead Thornton (5-16, 3-7 SouthWest Suburban Red).

Nykia Day had 12 points, and Naomi Fuller grabbed nine rebounds for the Wildcats.

Benet Academy 62, Marian Catholic 45: The Times No. 2 Spartans (16-11, 4-2) couldn't over come a strong second half by the Redwings in the East Suburban Catholic Conference road loss.

Bent outscored Marian Catholic 37-26 in the second half after leading 25-19 at halftime.

Megan Walsh had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alanna Ferry had 12 points and five assists. Teniya Page had nine points, five assists and two steals. Ashton Millender had 11 points.

Boys Basketball

Illinois Lutheran 57, Heritage Christian 51: Mack Newson's 21 points and Austin Wood's tally of 10 helped the Chargers (12-6) win their fourth straight.

News and Notes

Illinois Lutheran will have a Coaches vs. Cancer boys basketball game at 7:15 p.m.today when it hosts Donovan.

The night is sponsored by Wingstop of Lansing and South Holland and will offer ways to raise money for cancer for the American Cancer Society as well as awareness.

There will be special giveaways, according to Illinois Lutheran coach Mark Kjenstad. All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.

Area football players sign on at St. Joe's: St. Joseph's College football coach Cory Sanders signed several area players in his Class of 2012.

The locals included Homewood-Flossmoor wide receiver Gerald Butler, Bloomington Central Catholic offensive lineman Shawncey Day, Bolingbrook defensive lineman Greg Gordon, Grayslake North linebacker Andrew Soulis, Crete-Monee defensive back Tracy Whitehead and De La Salle wide receiver Brandon Wright.

"The Puma football program is much deeper and explosive with the addition of this class," Sanders said. "Coupled with the impact players we currently have on our roster, we are anxious to see the development of our program as we enter Great Lakes Valley Conference play next season."