St. Charles North’s Sydney Johnson shoots during a game against Batavia earlier this month.
Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Network

We’re knee deep in the playoffs.

It’s sectional time in girls basketball and the boys started regional play on Monday.

With competition getting fierce and teams clamping down on defense, it’s getting tougher for the top players to put up big numbers.

But the High Five marches on. Another edition honors the top performances from last week.

It’s a fascinating five with two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.

5. Allie Gogola, Lake Park

The 5-foot-10 guard — part of a Lancers team with no seniors — helped continue the team’s turnaround season in a 54-43 win over DeKalb in the Class 4A Willowbrook regional semifinals.

Gogola scored 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for Lake Park, which nearly doubled its win total from last season. She ended her junior season with 7 points in a loss to top-seeded St. Charles East in the regional final.

4. Ava Garcia, St. Viator

The first freshman to make the High Five this season, Garcia powered the Lions to their second straight regional title.

The 5-foot-8 guard scored 26 points and grabbed 12 boards in a 51-36 win over Amundsen in the Class 3A St. Viator regional semifinals.

Garcia added a team-high 21 points as the Lions held off Vernon Hills 48-43 in the regional final.

Fourth-seeded St. Viator faces top-seeded Grayslake Central in the sectional semifinals.

3. Carson Trivellini, Crystal Lake South

The Gators stayed on track for a share of the Fox Valley Conference championship behind Trivellini’s career-high 30 points in a 77-65 win at Jacobs.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore hit 12 of 20 shots from the field including six 3-pointers.

Crystal Lake South wrapped up a share of the FVC title later in the week with a win over Hampshire. Hat’s off to A.J. Demirov — a High Five honoree last week — for his career-high 43 points.

2. Sydney Johnson, St. Charles North

Johnson was a record smasher last week in the North Stars’ 78-28 win over Proviso West in the Class 4A St. Charles North regional semifinals.

The 5-foot-10 junior set program records by scoring 36 points and hitting nine 3-pointers while barely playing half the game. Johnson scored 32 points in the first half.

Johnson scored 9 points in a loss to Wheaton North in the regional final.

1. Davion Tate, Maine West

The explosive sophomore blew up again, scoring 46 points in a loss to Maine South to set a new school record.

Hard to say it was a surprise considering the 5-foot-8 guard tallied 42 points in a December overtime victory over Buffalo Grove.