Girls basketball preview: Senior-heavy Ottawa poised for another solid season

The Ottawa girls basketball team had to deal with a number of setbacks throughout last season – many of them injuries – but this winter, coach Brent Moore begins his 10th season at the helm with a senior-heavy roster and wealth of firepower.

“We were so dismantled all season long last year with injuries, but we worked through it, and a number of players were able to gain more experience because of it,” said Moore, who has compiled a 145-100 record. “Now we have almost everyone back this season healthy, and while we have a good idea of what we can be as a basketball team, we still have things to work on to get there. We still didn’t have [senior all-state guard] Marlie [Orlandi] all of last year or this summer, so one main thing will be building up chemistry on both ends of the floor.

“They’ve gotten overall better with each and every practice, which is one of our goals.”

Ottawa finished last season 17-13 overall and 5-5 in a tough Interstate 8 Conference. It was the eighth consecutive winning season and sixth with 17-plus victories in that stretch.

“This is a senior-heavy team, many played up as sophomores or freshmen, so they all know what is expected and what we want to do offensively and defensively,” Moore said. “It’s been all business since Day 1 of practices. This group has set high goals for themselves.

“We have girls that can shoot it from the perimeter, girls that can get into the paint and finish, and girls who can defend. If we can be consistent in those three areas and also do all of the other aspects well, I feel we can be a pretty tough team to beat.”

Orlandi, who missed all of last season recovering from a knee injury, returns after a sophomore season when she averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game and received Associated Press Class 3A All-State honorable mention.

“I think it goes without saying we missed having Marlie on the floor last season,” Moore said. “That said, she did everything she needed to do to get back, and while it was tough, I think she gained a lot from seeing the game from the sidelines. She just brings so much to the table and makes her teammates better, but that is what all-state players do.”

Ottawa also brings back seniors Skylar Dorsey (11.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 39.9% 3-pt, Times All-Area first team, Interstate 8 All-Conference Team), coach on the floor Ella Schmitz (8.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg, Times All-Area honorable mention) and three-year starter Hailey Larsen (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.7 spg), along with Addyson Miller, Ayla Dorsey, Ainsley Leonard and Charley Maierhofer.

“Skylar really stepped up for us last year in so many areas, as did Ella and Hailey,” Moore said. “The now-seniors all had to take on more significant roles or different roles, and they all handled those things about as good as they could have.”

The juniors are Mary Stisser (6.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.1 spg, Times All-Area honorable mention) and Skylar Nodland, with sophomores Bella Knoll and Libby Muffler rounding out the roster.

“Mary really benefited from extended playing time and improved so much last season,” Moore said. “She’s always going to be guarding the opponent’s best player, short or tall, guard or post, and she’s really good at it. I also thought as the season went along, she started to develop as a solid offensive player as well.”

The Pirates open the season at 5:30 p.m. Monday against Mahomet-Seymour in the Prairie Central Bracket at the Bank of Pontiac Turkey Tip-Off.