The annual Chicago Elite Classic is back for its 12th year. The event is one of the premier events of the high school basketball season. Starting last season, the CEC devoted an entire day to girl’s basketball and showcased the immense talent around the area.
This is the first time that Loyola Academy will participate in the CEC. Returning all 14 players from last season’s 28-7 team that won a regional championship, Jeremy Schoenecker wanted to challenge his team with its schedule.
“They’re super excited,” Schoenecker said. “We knew this was going to be a hopefully special year for us. We are playing every big event and going to play a lot of great teams in our conference as well.”
Here’s a look at the matchups, which take place Sunday at Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC:
Simeon vs. Thornton, 11 a.m.
Simeon is looking to bounce back after a down season by its lofty standards and going 11-17. The traditional public league powerhouse is just three seasons removed from winning its first state title. Thornton is looking to rebound after last year’s 5-21 season.
Phillips vs. Naperville Central, 12:30 p.m.
Naperville Central has had a tough schedule to begin the season: The RedHawks have played against some of the area’s most formidable teams — Batavia, Kenwood, Benet and Homewood-Flossmoor. Naperville Central is coming off a successful season in which it captured its first regional championship since 2018. They lost one of the best players in the state — Trinity Jones — but are a battle-tested group. Phillips is no stranger to playing on a big stage. They added high-scoring senior guard LaKeeyah Barnes from Morgan Park.
Loyola vs. Vashon (Mo.), 2 p.m.
This matchup is one of the most anticipated of the entire day. Loyola Academy is led by senior guards Kelsey Langston and Paige Engles —who is committed to Cornell. The Ramblers added junior guard Aubrey Galvan, who holds Brown, Yale and Murray State offers. They’ll have a challenge as they face off against the 2023 Missouri state champions.
Whitney Young vs. Lyons Township, 3:30 p.m.
The Dolphins are led by Destiny Jackson, a top-30 junior nationally, who holds offers from Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State and Arizona State. Young has a young core of players, but they work well together. Sophomore forward Lysa Jones is a double-double machine who has already received offers from Loyola and Ohio State. Freshman sharpshooter Gabby Domercant is also a name to watch. Lyons is led by junior forward Nora Ezike and sophomore Emma O’Brien.
Butler vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 5 p.m.
Butler has multiple players committed to playing college basketball, such as Serenti Adams (Oakland) and Xamiya Walton (Northwestern). The 2A power finished 2-1 in its Thanksgiving tournament in Florida, where they played against a top-20 team. H-F lost two games against Batavia and Benet by a combined two points. The Vikings are led by Joliet Central transfer Layla Pierce and Jaeda Murphy, who averaged 11 points last season.
Kenwood vs. Bolingbrook, 6:30 p.m.
The headlining game of the day features a Public League power and one of the top suburban teams. Junior guard Ariella Henigan leads Kenwood. She controls a potent Kenwood offense. Sophomore Danielle Brooks, junior Diann Jackson and senior Talya Tillman round out a talented Broncos team. Bolingbrook fell to O’Fallon in the supersectionals but added 2026 forward Trinity Jones, the seventh-ranked player in the country for her class.
Kyle Williams is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
