Crystal Lake Central’s Ruby Macke tries to drive to the basket against Wauconda’s Emma Wisniewski during a game in December.
Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network

As prep basketball teams tighten up for the upcoming IHSA playoffs, we’re starting to see some eye-popping individual numbers.

This edition of the High Five looks at the best boys and girls performances from last week, including a rare 50-point game.

Again, apologies for leaving out some great efforts. But we still have several weeks left for more players to get in here.

Let’s jump right in with last week’s standouts.

5. Oliver Gray, Barrington

The 6-foot-6 junior achieved “a dream” by eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for his prep career in a 62-56 Mid-Suburban West win over Palatine.

Gray scored a game-high 22 points while knocking down 4 of 8 3-point attempts and 6 of 8 free throws. After the Pirates pulled within 4 points in the waning seconds, Gray made two clutch free throws to seal the win.

Gray again led the Broncos with 17 points in a 61-29 win over Huntley.

4. Emma Wisniewski, Wauconda

The 5-foot-10 senior continued to showcase her overall ability in a pair of victories last week.

Wisniewski helped the Bulldogs extend their winning streak to seven games while staying within reach of Grayslake Central atop the Northern Lake County Conference standings. One of the area’s top defenders, Wisniewski had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals and a blocked shot in a 58-28 win over Grayslake North.

Wisniewski followed up with an even better game in a 63-26 win over Grant. She scored 10 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, had 2 steals and a blocked shot.

3. Hayven Harden, Downers Grove South

The 6-foot senior forward has been a double-double machine all season.

Earlier this month Harden enjoyed a stretch of three straight games of 30-plus points. While she didn’t quite reach that last week, Harden was still pretty strong.

Harden scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a win over Morton to help the Mustangs stay atop the West Suburban Gold standings.

2. Luke Smith, Addison Trail

For all the amazing individual performances in Blazers’ program history — including those by Smith himself — this one topped them all.

The 6-foot senior point guard scored a program-record 46 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished 11 assists for a triple-double in Addison Trail’s 88-79 West Suburban Gold victory over Proviso East.

The next day, in a 75-72 loss to Plainfield East, Smith maintained his hot hand by tallying 35 points.

1. Matthew Morrice, St. Edward

Morrice shattered the Green Wave’s single-game scoring record by pouring in 53 points in a 77-71 win over Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep.

Fifty-three points in a 32-minute game? That’s tough to do, but Morrice has proven to be unstoppable through much of this season.

Two days later, Morrice scored 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Wheaton Academy.