Girls basketball: Oswego wraps up encouraging summer with 3-0 finish at its shootout

OSWEGO – Oswego girls basketball coach Dave Lay hammered home a consistent theme to his team throughout June.

This time of year, wins and losses do no matter. What does matter is whether a team is getting better.

The Panthers appear to have passed that barometer.

The team won all three games at its Oswego Shootout on Friday, June 28. It completed an 11-6 June that saw the Panthers travel to DeKalb, Reed-Custer, Morris and East Aurora.

“We had glimpses of looking good and looking not so good [on Friday]. Over a five and a half hour period, that’s going to happen,” said Lay, going into his third season as Oswego head coach. “We definitely saw some things we’re excited and encouraged about. It gives us a good idea to see the things we need to work on to be the team we want to be come November.”

Oswego in June split two games at DeKalb, won its first three at Reed-Custer before losing in the championship game to Morris and went 2-4 at the Morris Shootout.

A win over a traditionally strong Class 3A program Glenbard South at East Aurora was one that Lay looked at as a benchmark for his group, which graduated just two seniors off a 9-24 team.

“We had most of our girls that will be varsity players, and we were up five at half and then got behind by six,” Lay said. “It was the kind of game that we would find a way to lose last year. We hit a couple threes and we won by one. It was encouraging. I felt like we were turning the corner to where we believe we can win. To see that during the summer is pretty cool.”

At its shootout Oswego beat Joliet West, Romeoville and Metea Valley. Impressively, the Panthers did so without junior post Kendall Grant, Oswego’s leading scorer from last year, and senior Maggie Voller, both gone on vacation.

“It’s encouraging,” Lay said. “You have to learn to play when people aren’t there; whoever is here we go and compete and don’t worry about who is not here. Many, many games this summer we were missing key people.”

Lay felt like this group developed an identity this summer. On the offensive end, that meant to drive and kick. On defense, it meant getting after it both in the halfcourt and fullcourt pressure.

“Our guards are doing a tremendous job of attacking. Last year we maybe had one or two going to the hoop, but now we have five or six girls. We attack as well as any team I saw,” Lay said. “Our ball movement was outstanding and we are taking the shots we are supposed to take.

“Defense, we’re just getting after it. With the exception of the Joliet West game, where we were at our best in the halfcourt, when we were pressing teams we smothered teams. Pressing will be part of our identity.”

Lay noted that junior guard Ashley Cook has made tremendous gains during the summer.

“She’s been a decent player for us, but she’s looked spectacular during the summer,” Lay said. “Some of these girls have been on varsity for two years. I’ve seen it just from their confidence that they believe now. Their bodies are physically stronger and they’re more confident mentally. We’ve had girls working hard in the offseason, hitting the weight room and playing AAU, like a lot of girls do. It’s fun to see.”