Undefeated Jefferson Girls in Basketball Conference Championship Tonight

Can the girls varsity basketball team go 24-0?

We'll find out tonight at the SDEAA conference championship.

Jefferson Jr. High (23-0) will play Butler Jr. High School at 6 p.m. at Jefferson. Jefferson topped the large-school division of its conference; Butler topped the small-school division.

After playing two playoff games this week, Jefferson is 17-0 in conference. It's only the second time in school history Jefferson has gone undefeated in conference. It just so happens that the first was last year.

Jefferson lost just one game in the 2010-2011 season, finishing with a 25-1 record, two tournament championships and the conference championship. 

Mostly eighth-graders compete on the team, so the team is full of new faces and new talent this year. 

The girls have won the Downers Grove Mayor's Goodwill Basketball Classic and the Westmont Rotary Junior High Basketball Tournament and have a 21-0 overall record. 

Like last year, Jefferson hasn't just won games -- they've won games by considerable margins. The closest margin so far was 11 points against Old Quarry Middle School on Monday.

"To have two teams in two years that are undefeated in conference -- it's incredible," Coach Dreama Mensavage-Mueller. "They've worked really hard in skills camps and summer league and throughout the season." 

One student has been on both undefeated teams. Jaida Green made the varsity team last year as a seventh-grader and contributed greatly to the team's success in the 2010-2011 season. 

For 2011-2012, she's the heart of the team, said Mensavage-Mueller. 

"She's had 28 3's and averaged 18 to 19 points a game," she said. "When she goes to Downers Grove North (next year), they'll be lucky to have her." 

Mensavage-Mueller also noted Lexi Dimovski as a key player and Leah Rogoz as "the best rebounder in the league." 

Jefferson will start its playoff berth on Wednesday. The first round is on Wednesday, the second round on Thursday and the championship is on Friday. 

Conference record: 15-0

Overall record: 21-0

Roster: Jaida Green, Lexi Dimovski, Simone Gardner, Tinisha Neeley, Yanae Stennis, Katie Rock, Kelly McLean, Leah Rogoz, Janine Urgello, Natassja Brown, Ledia Bebawy, Sarah Harris, Jessica Christman, Nilah Naponiello

Managers: Maddie Hartig, Amy Ganschow, Brianna Brooks and Romanda Neeley

Coaches: Dreama Mueller and Glenn Mueller

Jefferson's conference: Jefferson plays in the Southeast DuPage Elementary Athletic Association, which includes Burr Ridge Middle School (Burr Ridge), Butler Jr. High (Oak Brook), Cass Jr. High (Darien), Eisenhower Jr. High (Darien), Gower Middle School (Burr Ridge), Lakeview Jr. High (Downers Grove), Lisle Jr. High (Lisle), Old Quarry (Lemont), Westmont Jr. High (Westmont) and Westview Hills Middle School (Clarendon Hills).