Girls Basketball: Led by Lauren Huber and Emily Ryan, Glenbard East shows huge growth

ROSELLE – The days when teams could roll to victory over Glenbard East are over.

Lauren Huber and Emily Ryan made sure of that this year.

The two juniors were the catalysts of a remarkable ascent by the Rams, who improved from 8-25 last season to 18-14 this season, which ended Tuesday night with a 65-39 loss to Bartlett at the Class 4A Lake Park Regional semifinals.

“We’ve definitely come a long way,” Huber said. “This group has been together for a while, so we’ve really grown and figured out what it means to work as a team on the court and off the court.

“We are there for each other. (We’ve) really (got) that team mentality.”

Even in defeat, the ninth-seeded Rams (18-14) proved formidable. Fifth-seeded Bartlett (24-8) had beaten them twice during the regular season and jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 15-4.

But Glenbard East kept the game close until the Hawks finally pulled away in the fourth quarter as their withering press wore down the Rams.

Huber has been the star point guard for three seasons and again was the leader against the Hawks, recording 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals. But she got a lot of help from the 5-10 Ryan, who added 11 points and nine rebounds.

The 5-foot-10 Ryan sank a pair of short jumpers in the lane to twice pull the Rams within two in the second quarter. That allowed Glenbard East to hang with the hot-shooting Hawks longer than expected.

“They had a very good night shooting and their defense is very aggressive,” Huber said. “We were able to adjust to their good defense and work the ball around the court so we’d get everyone involved.

“Emily Ryan had a good game down in the post, we were able to get a couple 3s and alot of down low shots.”

Ryan’s emergence helped take some of the pressure off Huber and was a big reason why the Rams won eight of their last 11 regular-season games.

“She has come on so strong,” Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller said. “She was really finding her niche the second half of the season. She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with next season.”

Huber ,of course, already is and she gave the Hawks fits, scoring on a drive to cut Bartlett’s lead to 29-24 early in the third quarter. She scored eight straight points in the quarter but the Hawks drained eight 3-pointers and then scored repeatedly in transition during the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 22-9 in the final period.

Kenzie Hare had 26 points and Lexie Sinclair added 19 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Hawks, who forced 24 turnovers while committing only nine.

Despite the loss, the Rams finished with their most wins since 2003-04 and fell just two shy of the program record of 20, set in 1987-88. And with the entire starting lineup – which also includes juniors Kendall Crackel, Katie Mulatz and Aubrey Wendorff – set to return, things are looking up.

“I think they’re starting to take pride (in the program),” Miller said. “They’re working together.

“They put a lot of time in last summer and I imagine they’ll do the same this season. It’s just a group of girls that really work hard and I think will only improve for the senior year.”

Huber is optimistic, too.

“It’s very exciting,” Huber said. “We’re hoping to work hard over the summer and all throughout next season.”