I think it's a little early to play contender/pretender in the girls Western Big Six, but Thursday night will go a long way into sorting out some things.
I want to start with the surprising Alleman squad. They have, on paper, the easiest game taking on Quincy at home. The Pioneers' only conference loss is to Rock Island by 12 in the league opener. Since then they have taken down Moline at home and beat United Township on the road. Alleman looks to be in good position heading into the holiday break. They have balanced scoring and are playing with confidence right now.
United Township heads to Galesburg in a game that both teams need to stay in the hunt. Both schools are 1-2 in conference play. The winner is locked into third place and the loser will be in fourth with a lot of work to do. UT coach Justin Shiltz was not a happy camper after last week's loss to Alleman, particularly because his team failed at the fundamentals. I would expect the Panthers to come out and get after people and rebound really well this week. They must play good team defense and minimize second-shot opportunities.
I'll be at Moline and Rock Island. The Rocks have the inside advantage, while it's the Maroons who are capable of shooting well from the outside. Moline senior Tiana McCormick will have a big task slowing down not only Sarita Goldsmith, but the other forwards that Rocky will rotate through the post. The Maroons must provide rebounding support if they want to pull the upset and lock up second place through the Christmas break. A loss only drops them to third place and they have the majority of their Big Six games at home in 2012.
For the Rocks, another win would mean first place alone heading into the break. A loss and they share first place with Alleman.
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