Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil makes GCAC Red opponents see double. Again. And again. And again. ‘I had to step up.’

When starting center Cailyn McLean went down with a shoulder issue, it meant double duty for Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil.

She not only needed to score her points, but the 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward also had to get the bulk of the rebounds during the GCAC Red Tournament.

Feil responded with a double-double. She had 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 53-45 quarterfinal victory over Trinity.

“When coach (Curtis Lewis) told me about it, it was real exciting,” Feil said. “It gave me more confidence.”

So much confidence that she did it again with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 60-54 semifinal victory over St. Ignatius.

Guess what happened in Saturday’s 55-54 overtime win against Loyola?

Yep, another double-double. This time, it was 15 points and 17 rebounds as the Mighty Macs emerged as the GCAC Red champions.

Nobody did it better than Feil.

“Since Cailyn’s been out, we’ve had different girls in different situations,” Lewis said. “Everybody called upon stepped up to the challenge. But Morgan has been asked to do a ton, and she’s done well.

“She’s drawing contact. Getting to the line. Making her free throws. We’ve run a lot of sets through Morgan, and she’s been finishing really good. And she’s been taking the brunt of our rebounding on by herself.”

Feil is in her third season on the varsity. As a sophomore, she averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.

With Bella Finnegan graduating and moving on to Indiana State, the Mighty Macs needed new leadership.

This season, Feil is averaging 12 points and eight rebounds with the Class 4A state playoffs just around the corner.

“I knew I had to step up my role,” Feil said. “I feel like I’m really carrying that. The confidence I have right now is really helping.”

Season of giving: Sophomore guard/forward Charity Love has a chance to leave a special legacy at Chicago Christian.

If she keeps up the pace, she will lead the Knights in scoring in four straight varsity seasons.

“I just heard something about that the other day,” Love said. “It’s kind of fun to think about, but I don’t let it affect me. I just try to come out and play the best I can.”

The 5-7 Love is averaging 8.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 steals for the Knights (10-18). Chicago Christian coach Karl Frixen has started her since her first game as a freshman.

“I heard rumblings of her, because she also played golf,” Frixen said. “Everybody was going, ‘Oh, we’ve got this pretty athletic ninth grader. She might play basketball.’ Then the first time I saw her at practice I was like, ‘Yep. You can play varsity.’

“She loves basketball and she works hard. As long as she keeps wanting to play, wanting to get better, she has all the intangibles to be great.”

Senior night II: Evergreen Park’s Dora Cihocki celebrated senior night for the second time before a Jan. 31 game against Chicago Christian. The 6-1 center responded with 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 54-16 victory.

Cihocki, who was a leading hitter and blocker in volleyball, is the Mustangs’ leading scorer in basketball. She will be honored one more time during softball season.

“I try to stay in the now, but I’m looking forward to it,” Cihocki said. “Going from one sport to another is all I’ve done the past four years. It’s kind of sad that it’s coming to an end, but it’s been a lot of fun.”

She’s still debating which sport to pursue in college.

“I have it narrowed down — I just have to make a final decision,” Cihocki said. “I’m excited for what’s next.”