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With the girls basketball season set to tip off this week, here are previews of teams from around the Record Newspapers coverage area.
Newark
Coach: Glenn Clausel (1st season)
Last season’s record: 22-9, 7-1 Little Ten
Top returning players: Emily DiClementi (sr., G); Kiara Wesseh (jr., G); Taylor Kruser (sr., G); Brooklyn Hatteberg (jr., G); Bre Dixon (sr., F)
Top new players: Tess Carlson (so., G); Stephanie Snyder (jr., G); Addison Ness (so., G/F); Payton Wallin (fr., F); Dani Peshia (jr., G)
Worth noting: Clausel takes over for P.J. McKinney, who coached the Norsemen volleyball team this fall. Last year Clausel guided the Newark junior varsity as head coach and helped lead the varsity squad to a Class 1A regional title before falling to Little Ten rival Serena in the sectional championship. Six seniors graduated off that squad, so Clausel will have some big minutes and points to replace. DiClementi (6.4 ppg) is the leading scorer of the returnees, while Kruser (4.4 ppg, 2.9 apg, 2.1 spg) will be back and run the show at point guard. Dixon is another key to the mix and will play at a forward spot. Wesseh and Hatteberg didn’t see a lot of time as sophomores, but will surely be counted on this year according to Clausel. … Carlson, Snyder, Ness, Wallin and Peshia are five more names Clausel will turn to on his young team. “We want to compete strongly in our conference and hopefully in the nonconference games as well,” Clausel said. “The girls have been practicing hard and getting used to some new things. We’ll be ready to go and open up Nov. 14 against Plano in a very tough tournament at Somonauk.”
-- Bill Lidinsky
Oswego
Coach: Dave Lay (first year).
Last season’s record: 2-26 (1-15 Southwest Prairie Conference).
Top returning players: Kendall Fulton, sr. (F, 5-10); Anna Johnson, sr. (G, 5-4); Emily Mengerink, jr. (G, 5-6 1/4); Journey Davis, sr. (F, 5-8); Cameron Tarver, sr. (G, 5-7); Kaelyn Stager, jr. (G, 5-8); Maggie Voller, so. (G, 5-10).
Top new players: Ahlivia East, fr. (G, 5-8); Ashley Cook, fr. (G, 5-5).
Worth noting: Lay, previously the head coach at Plano, takes over an Oswego program coming off a tough season attributable to several factors including youth and bad luck with injuries. The Panthers, though, did have an encouraging summer to build off. Fulton, Johnson and Mengerink are returning starters, although Fulton suffered a season-ending injury in the opener last year. Johnson, a Lindenwood soccer commit, averaged 4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals. Mengerink averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.
“We’re aiming to be more competitive on a daily basis, and that starts at practice,” Lay said. “Like any team, we want to have fun, and we want to win as much as we can. But we’re focusing on the little things that will hopefully give us a chance to win – playing solid defense, communication, consistently working on our culture, and giving everything we have each and every day. If we can do those things, we’ll be a much more competitive team.”
Oswego East
Coach: Abe Carretto (12th year).
Last season’s record: 14-17, 9-7 Southwest Prairie Conference, third place.
Top returning players: Ava Valek, jr. (C, 6-0); Cami Phillips, jr. (G, 5-5); Maggie Lewandowski, so., G;
Top new players: Myela Dart, so., G; Desiree Merritt, fr. (G, 5-6); Anna Tran, jr. (G, 5-5).
Worth noting: A young team got a lot younger with Riley Doggett, last year’s Record Newspapers Player of the Year, likely out for the season with a torn ACL. “With her absence the other players will have to step up their level of offense and defense throughout the season,” Carretto said. Valek, who came off the bench last year, and Phillips are returning starters – Phillips scored a career-high 20 points in a regional semifinal win. Lewandowski came off the bench as a freshman and Carretto expects her and Phillips to be the main offensive guards. Among the newcomers, Dart is a guard who will spell Phillips and Lewandowski, Merritt a freshman that is lightning fast, can jump and is a scoring threat and Tran a key defender off the bench.
Others expected to contribute include senior Rakshita Kunde, senior Caley Layman, and 5-foot-9 freshmen Aubrey Lamberti, Lillie VanDyke, and Nicole Warbinski. “These players will add some height to our team at the small forward and guard positions,” Carretto said. “I expect them to be key contributors on the offensive and defensive end as they have a high IQ for the game and are picking up things quickly.”
“This team is young, so it may take us a while to get on track, but we are progressing quicker than I thought,” Carretto said, “especially as we will be missing our leading scorer, and all conference player from the past two years in Riley Doggett.”
Parkview Christian
Coach: Kayla Linden (fourth year).
Last season’s record: 23-1, first place in Illinois Christian Conference.
Top returning players: Liz Griswold, sr. (5-10, F); Gracie Lambes, jr. (5-3, G); Emily Howard, jr. (5-9, F); Maddie Linden, sr. (5-11, F).
Top new players: Jasmine Fruland, fr.; Ruth Oudyn, fr.; Hannah Barngrover, fr.
Worth noting: The Falcons have all nine players back from a team that took first place in the Illinois Christian Conference and third in the Association Christian School International. It was quite the banner season for a young program just in its fourth year of varsity basketball. Leading the way is Griswold, who averaged 18.1 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Lambes, who have averaged 16.2 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Howard averaged 5.5 points and 6 rebounds and Linden 5.1 points and 5 rebounds. Coach Linden said that returners Jill Shotsberger, Izzy Dreisilker, Jeri Loeffler and Zoey Matichak are all great defenders.
“With everyone coming back this year we are expecting a great season,” said coach Linden, in her 13th season total at Parkview Christian. " We just all need to stay healthy. We have worked hard in the off season and improved our ball handling and shooting. Our bench is going to give us a boost this year so we can keep fresh legs and grind on defense. We have girls who love to play defense. We are looking forward to playing as a team and take one game at a time. Win the quarter is our motto!”
Plano
Coach: Tristan Spivey (first season).
Last season’s record: 3-28, 1-13 Interstate Eight.
Top returning players: Ryssa Woodhouse (sr., G); Maddy Leftridge (sr., G); Alex Bishop (sr., F/G); Josie Larson (so., G); Mikayla Walls (sr., F).
Top new player: Gabby Videckis (fr., F).
Worth noting: Spivey – a native of Terre Haute, IN – takes over for coach Dave Lay who took the girls basketball helm at Oswego this season. “These girls have put in a great two weeks of practice and are ready to compete,” Spivey said. “I don’t expect us to become a winning team overnight, but there is talent on this roster and the girls are beginning to see it.” That talent comes from returners Walls (9 ppg, 7 rpg), Woodhouse (8.3 ppg, 4 rpg, 2 spg), Larson (5.2 ppg, 5 rpg), Bishop (3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Leftridge. Key freshman newcomer Videckis figures to play into Spivey’s and long-time veteran Reaper hoop coach Al Gruidl’s mix with Gruidl back for another stint as an assistant. “As a coaching staff we are encouraging the girls to make mistakes, learn from them and move on,” Spivey said. “Every game this year will be looked at as an opportunity to create memories and be special. We are going to figure things out together.” The Reapers open their season Nov. 14 at the annual Tim Humes Somonauk Breakout Tournament where they will battle Newark.
-- Bill Lidinsky
Sandwich
Coach: Jim Schmidt (first season).
Last season’s record: 10-23, 4-10 Interstate Eight.
Top returning players: Claire Allen (sr., F); Alexis Sexton (sr., G); Bre Sexton (sr., F); Lily Geltz (sr., G); Hannah Treptow (so., G); Kaylin Herren (sr., F); Alyssa Broce (sr., G); Allison Olson (sr., G); Melody Goldstein (sr., G).
Top new players: Julia Meyers (jr. G); Johanna Freeman (fr., F); Peyton Dudzik (jr., F); Mia Geltz (so., G).
Worth noting: After a long tenure as Plano High School’s Athletic Director and as its baseball coach from 1994 through 2007, Schmidt retired after the 2021-22 school year only to take up coaching the Indians – girls varsity basketball program the Reapers archrival – which for so many seasons Schmidt fought against. “It certainly is strange, but I got the chance to coach with my daughter (Sandwich assistant basketball coach Mikayla Schmidt),” he said. “So after my retirement, I thought it would be a challenge to get back into coaching after so many years away from it and I’m excited to lead a very good team that I think will be pretty strong this season. Sandwich will return four starters including leading scorer Allen (11.4 points per game), Bre Sexton, Alexis Sexton and Treptow. Lily Geltz should round out this year’s starting lineup with the Indians boasting a whopping eight seniors on the 13-player varsity roster. “Eight seniors is definitely good,” Schmidt said. “But because of injuries, illness and learning a new system it may take a while to get into our groove. Playing a tough schedule like we have should get us ready for a good post season.” The Indians open the 2022-23 campaign Nov. 14 at the Tim Humes Somonauk Breakout Tournament.
-- Bill Lidinsky
Yorkville
Coach: Kim Wensits (seventh year)
Last season’s record: 10-20 (7-9 Southwest Prairie Conference)
Top returning players: Alex Stewart, sr. (G, 5-6); Courtney Morse, sr. (F/C, 5-7); Ava Hendershott, sr. (5-6, G).
Top new players: Brooke Spychalski, so. (G, 5-8); Madi Spychalski, so. (F/C, 5-11); Ava Diqui, so. (5-6, G).
Worth noting: An athletic Foxes’ group returns nine players from last year’s team that juggled several lineups throughout the season due to COVID. Stewart, committed to Morton Community College, is in her fourth season on varsity. She averaged a team-high 11.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals as a junior. Other starters back are Morse, who averaged 5.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 assists, and Hendershott, who averaged 5 points per game. It’s a true mix of veterans and youth with seven seniors, four juniors and four sophomores. Wensits, in her 16th year total in the program, is looking forward to seeing how girls like Kaelie Moreno, Aliesha Peterson, and Lainey Gussman who didn’t play much last season step into expanded roles.
“Should have a very competitive year looking to be in the running for both a conference championship as well as a regional championship,” Wensits said. “We will be looking to have a well balanced attack that allows for a lot of people to get into the game. Looking to turn up intensity on the defensive side to allow for easier scoring opportunities on offense. Team play is also the name of our game with athletes looking to attack to score, but finding teammates open if they get stopped.”
Yorkville Christian
Coach: Jeff Schutt (first year).
Last season’s record: 7-18
Top returning players: Danielle Bulson, so.; Grace Allgood, so.; Kennedy Cargola, sr.
Top new players: Kialana Thompson, so.; Paige Gillman, fr.
Worth noting: This is the second year of the program, which went 7-18 last year with seven players on the team. Schutt took over the program last August. Yorkville Christian to date has 12 girls out for basketball and hopes to field both a varsity and JV team this season. Bulson, Allgood and Cargola are the Mustangs’ top three players back. Other returners who should have an impact are sophomore Hailey Fallon sophomore and junior Autumn Konczal. Schutt expects Thompson, a first-year player, and Gillman to see plenty of varsity action.
Other new members to the team are junior Sideny Baze, sophomore Bella Dungan sophomore and freshmen Emma Schleining, Kyla Motley and Maddie McBride.
“We have several girls that have not played basketball before but their athleticism and ability to learn fast is going to make this season exciting to see how far they can develop in such a short time,” Schutt said.