Girls basketball: Scouting Lakes
LAKES
Coach: Pete Schneider (fifth season)
Last season: 17-13, 9-3 in NSC Prairie, lost to Vernon Hills in Class 3A Lakes regional final
Key losses: C Terese McMahon (Loras College), G Amanda Smith, G Nicole Mogged, F Dayna Olson, G Shelby Trkla
Returning players: Sr. G Sam Ney, Sr. G Kelsey Kohler, Sr. C Alexis Lee
Newcomers: Jr. C Olivia Pawlak, So. PG Ellie Haviland, Fr. F Kaylee Lebron, Fr. C Natile Pawlak, Fr. F Isabella Quranta, Jr. G Gabby Blanco, Jr. G Alyssa Brey, Jr. G Nicole Denman, Jr. G Michelle Houghton
Outlook: The Eagles have added Lebron. Not LeBron, mind you. But Kaylee Lebron is one of three freshmen with a “big” potential for a squad that does not return a single starter after winning a school-record 17 games last season. “Great kid,” coach Pete Schneider said. Lebron stands 5 feet 10, as does freshman Isabella Quranta, while fellow ninth-grader Natile Pawlak is listed at 5-11. The Eagles had 22 freshmen come out, with Schneider placing five others on the JV team. The only seniors on varsity are guards Sam Ney and Kelsey Kohler and 6-1 center Alexis Lee. Ney is playing her third season on varsity, Kohler missed most of the first half of last season with illness, while Lee had limited varsity minutes. “Sam and Kelsey look to play a big role,” Schneider said. “Alexis had a pretty good AAU season so hopefully that translates into her high school season.” Gone is all-area forward Terese McMahon, a three-year all-conference player who graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,051 points. Guards Heather Hurlbut and Maya Schmitt did not come out. “Terese McMahon is a big offensive punch we lost,” Schneider said. “But I think we’re definitely more balanced and we have more offensive threats this year than we did last year.” While the Eagles will miss the 5-11 McMahon’s low-post presence, Schneider is high on junior Olivia Pawlak. The big sister of freshman Natile, Pawlak earned a late-season promotion to the varsity last winter. “She really just started playing a lot of basketball,” Schneider said. “She is an honest-to-goodness, no-fudging 6 foot 2. She’s one of the top-five fastest kids on my team running the floor. Not many kids run the floor like that. And she has great ballhandling skills for a 6-foot-2 girl. She can put the ball on the floor, take you to the basket with 1-2 steps and finish.” The only sophomore is point guard Ellie Haviland, who ran the offense for the freshman team last year. “The future looks good,” Schneider said. “We’re obviously unknown. But I really believe that if these kids stay positive and play together, and hopefully get some momentum going, they can be really good.”