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With girls basketball season starting across the state Monday, here is a look at the 2024-25 season for teams across The Times coverage area.
Editor’s note: Season previews for Marquette, Seneca, Ottawa and Streator’s girls basketball teams appear in separate articles.
Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland
Coach: Danielle Pollitt (6th season)
Last season: 7-22 overall, 1-11 Heart of Illinois
Top returners: Ella Derossett, G, sr.; Kora Edens, G, jr.; Aubry Edens, G/F, so.; Emma Palaschak, G/F, so.
Worth noting: Derossett is the only senior for this year’s Falcons, but she’s an awfully good one, already a 1,000-point scorer coming off a season where she was second-team All-HOIC as well as second-team Times All-Area. The Edenses were both solid contributors last winter, while Palaschak showed flashes of potentially being a 1,000-point scorer herself. While these four bring talent and varsity experience back for Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland, as in recent years it is a young roster overall, with multiple underclassmen in addition to Palaschak and Aubry Edens being asked to step into large roles. Interior play – especially rebounding – will be another area the Falcons will be looking to figure out. “The core of our team has many varsity minutes under their belts,” Pollitt said, “[and] this should help in our confidence level. [Our] expectations are to improve our overall and conference records from last season.” FCW opens by hosting its own pool in the two-site Falcon-Irish Thanksgiving Tournament.
Fieldcrest
Coach: Nate Ehrhardt (2nd season)
Last season: 21-9 overall, 7-5 Heart of Illinois
Top returners: Emily Tooley, F, sr.; Macy Gochanour, PG, jr.; Pru Mangan, F, jr.; TeriLynn Timmerman, G/F, so.
Top newcomers: Ava Gott, G, jr.; Madeline Theesfield, F, so.; Olivia Denk, G, so.
Worth noting: Fieldcrest returns a nucleus of players from last year’s 21-win squad in Gochanour, Mangan, Tooley and Timmerman. Gochanour and Mangan were All-Heart of Illinois Conference honorable mention, and Gochanour is on pace to join the 1,000-point club this season. “We have a young team, but within that youth they have seen a lot of experience in varsity play,” Ehrhardt said. “Macy, Pru and TeriLynn saw significant minutes last year and were a large key to last year’s success. I see that depth of game experience allowing each of them to settle in earlier in the season this year and thus better lead our team night in and night out for some of our newer players who are looking forward to competing at the varsity level.” Ehrhardt said the Knights will be balanced offensively.” “I believe we will have the ability to compete for the small school conference championship again and we hope to be able to finish in the top four overall in what will be a competitive conference again,” Ehrhardt said.
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Serena
Coach: Jim Jobst (7th season)
Last season: 27-6 overall, 6-0 Little Ten
Top returners: Jenna Setchell, G, sr.; Hannah McNelis, G, sr.; RayElle Brennan, G, sr.; Macy Mahler, F, sr.; Maddie Glade, F, sr.
Top newcomers: Kendall Whiteaker, F, jr.; Brynley Glade, G, so.; Finley Jobst, G, so.; Alexa McNally, G, so.; Anna Hjerpe, G, so.; Parker Twait, F, fr.
Worth noting: The Huskers are coming off a third consecutive Class 1A regional championship and Little Ten Conference championship season. While they did lose a strong senior group led by the 2023-24 Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Paisley Twait, and fellow Times All-Area first-teamer Makayla McNally, the Huskers still return a strong senior contingent led by All-Area third-team selection Setchell (9.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 steals per game last winter). Hjerpe, a transfer from Marquette, is a nice addition, and familiar last names like Jobst, McNally and Twait (a 6-foot freshman) are as well. “We will continue to play an up-tempo game predicated on our defense,” Coach Jobst said. “Even though we lost a lot, we still have a good amount of experience with the seniors having spent time on varsity for all four years. We have good athletes, top to bottom, so it will be a matter of how quickly we can jell as a team. The girls have been working extremely hard and they are very focused on doing everything they can to have a great season.”
Newark
Coach: Jasmine Mitchell (2nd season)
Last season: 18-12 overall, 5-1 Little Ten
Top returners: Addison Ness, G, sr.; Addison Long, G, sr.; Olivia Smith, F, sr.
Top newcomers: Jade Mitchell, F, fr.; Kate Bromeland, C, sr.; LeAnn Monsess, G, so.
Worth noting: The Norsemen graduated a talented senior class, but Coach Mitchell is hopeful for this rebuilding year. Despite not capturing one last season, Newark has won eight Class 1A regional championships over the past 10 postseasons, but has not advanced beyond sectionals since 2008. Finishing at or toward the top of the Little Ten, in which Newark was runner-up behind Serena last season, is a primary goal despite the new faces. “We have a lot of newcomers to the program and key pieces in the younger classes that I expect my leading seniors to forge ahead with,” Jasmine Mitchell said. “I still plan on being competitive in conference play and hope to finish no lower than last year.” Ness – who earned Times All-Area honorable mention last season – will be a key piece in those plans.
Earlville
Coach: Brandon Skolek (5th season)
Last season: 5-25 overall, 2-4 Little Ten
Top returners: Emma Jacobs, G, sr.; Natalie Hall, F, sr.; Addie Scherer, F, so.; Jessie Miller, G, jr.
Top newcomers: Bailey Miller, F, jr.; Audrey Scherer, F, fr., Kylie Helgesen, G, so.
Worth noting: The Red Raiders will be looking for scorers after the graduation of last year’s two leading scorers – including school all-time points leader Madyson Olson, a Times All-Area third-teamer as a senior. “Finding where our offense is going to come from,” Skolek responded when asked about an area his team is concentrating on. “We have some young girls that are figuring out where they fit in an offense with a lot more shot attempts to go around.” Hand in hand with that is a renewed emphasis on defense for Earlville, which hopes to use its speed to both frustrate opponents and create easy scoring opportunities. “To start the year we have been focusing a lot of attention on the defensive end,” Skolek said. “We know that in order to have success this year, it has to start there. We are a relatively quick team that hopes to cause havoc on that side of the floor.” Earlville will open the 2024-25 season at Illinois Math & Science Academy’s McIntosh Tournament.
Somonauk/Leland
Coach: Jason Zaleski (3rd season)
Last season: 9-23 overall, 4-3 Little Ten
Top returners: Kiley Mason, G, jr.; Abby Hohmann, PG, jr.; Kennedy Barshinger, G/F, so.; Macey Kinney, G/F, jr.; Aubrey Chiavario, G/F, jr.
Top newcomers: Leah Norris, C, jr.; Emma Elder, G, so.; Laynie Wold, G, jr.
Worth noting: Somonauk/Leland will open the season again hosting the Tim Humes Breakout, opening Tuesday against Dwight. Zaleski doesn’t have any seniors to plug into his starting lineup, but that doesn’t mean the Bobcats lack experience, with four juniors plus Barshinger who saw serious varsity minutes last winter. With some key newcomers – including a bonafide middle-of-the-paint center in Norris – added to the mix, Zaleski believes he has a team without a 15 ppg scorer, but with five-plus players who could score 15-plus points in any given game. Defensive versatility, too, will be a plus. “This is an unselfish group that offers a lot of versatility and is showing it values team success over individual stats,” Zaleski said. “Their leadership and team first mentality has created a very competitive and enjoyable first week of practices. ... This team expects to get stronger on both sides of the ball every day, and we expect to compete every game. Some games will result in wins, but all games will result in learning lessons that lead to improvement. We certainly expect to be playing our best ball of the year when the conference tournament arrives.”
Sandwich
Coach: Steve Treptow (2nd season)
Last season: 6-26 overall, 4-10 Kishwaukee River
Top returners: Hannah Treptow, G, sr.; Allee Subat, F, sr.; Bailey Frieders, G, jr.; Mia Geltz, G, sr.; Kayden Cornelis, G, jr.
Top newcomer: Alayla Harris, F, so.
Worth noting: Coach’s daughter Hannah, a fourth-year varsity starter and University of Dubuque commit, will again lead the Indians. The two-time all-conference pick averaged 11.5 points, and over five rebounds, assists and steals per game last season. The senior leadership of Treptow, Subat and Geltz will be key to Sandwich’s success. Coach Treptow expects Corneils (7.5 ppg) and Frieders (4.0 ppg) to impact the team with a year of varsity experience under their belts. Subat (3.5 ppg, 5 rpg), undersized at forward but high-energy and athletic, rounds out the starting lineup. Six-footer Harris will help immensely on the defensive end after an impressive summer “Looking to be a lot more competitive this year,” Coach Treptow said. “Going to play an up-tempo offense, trying to push the pace with an aggressive defense.”
— Joshua Welge and Kevin Chlum contributed to this preview package.