Girls basketball: St. Bede returns four starters, moves to Tri-County

The St. Bede girls basketball team will have an experienced roster as it makes the move to the Tri-County Conference this season.

The Bruins return four starers in seniors Ali Bosnich and Ella Hermes, junior Ashlyn Ehm and sophomore Lily Bosnich along with seniors Marly Tillman and Jeanna Ladzinski, juniors Grace Millington, Quinn McClain and sophomore Lili McClain, who all gained experience last winter. Junior Bailey Engels rounds out the roster as a varsity newcomer.

“I think they have really good chemistry together,” second-year coach Stephanie Mickley said. “They are a self-motivating team, which makes it fun to watch. They’re very supportive of each other. Now that we have a year under our belts the coaches all work together to create an environment where they know the plays, they know the drills, and it makes it easier to pick up where we left off.

“With a lot of kids coming back, I think we have some real basketball IQ. That is going to help us get the team in the right direction.”

Ali Bosnich leads the veteran group as the 6-footer averaged 16.6 points and eight rebounds per game last season as she was a NewsTribune and BCR First-Team All-Area pick.

“She had a great season last year,” Mickley said. “She’s a leader for the team. I expect her to get rebounds. They’re going to be expecting her to be on the inside, so she knows she’s going to be harder for her to score, but that’s where she has to reinvent herself in other ways to get those points, and she will.”

With a lot of kids coming back, I think we have some real basketball IQ. That is going to help us get the team in the right direction.”

—  Stephanie Mickley, St. Bede coach

Mickley expects Ali Bosnich to provide inside and outside scoring along with Ehm, while Quinn McClain, Hermes and Engels are strong shooters.

Hermes averaged 8.8 points per game last season, while Lily Bosnich averaged 6.5 and Ehm contributed 4.9 per game.

“I expect us to hopefully score more [after averaging 40.6 points last season],” Mickley said. “We have the outside shooters this year along with an inside game, so hopefully that will level off the scoring pattern so it’s harder for teams to defend us.”

The Bruins will look to be aggressive on defense.

“The girls know what we ran last year. They’re familiar with it,” Mickley said. “They know we want intense defense, put the pressure on and go from there. Force turnovers.”

Mickley said she likes the move to the Tri-County Conference and expects the Bruins to compete well.

“I think we will be very competitive in that conference,” Mickley said. “There are going to be some very good, quality teams that are going to be tough to play. Marquette is one of them. Seneca. We gave them a good game last year twice. I think it will be good for us, and we can set a goal to do well in conference this year.”

St. Bede also wants to be competitive in the postseason. Last year, the Bruins finished 9-21 and lost 64-55 to No. 3-seeded Newark in a regional semifinal as a No. 6 seed.

“We want to be over .500 this year,” Mickley said. “We want to place in the top three in conference. In regionals, anything is possible, but as coaches we see what we have and we think we can do well in the playoffs.”

The Bruins will open the season in the Pontiac Turkey Tip-Off. St. Bede plays Peoria Notre Dame on Monday in its opener.