Girls basketball: Scouting Wauconda

WAUCONDA

Coach: Jaime Dennis (seventh season)

Last season: 10-14, 5-7 in NSC Prairie, lost to St. Viator in Class 3A St. Viator regional semifinals

Key players lost: G Lauren Nee (Elmhurst College), C Dani Sturm, F Kelly Haberichter, G Jena Heck

Returning players: Sr. F Jessie Wood (5-8), So. C Katie Rossetti (6-2), Sr. G Paige Motley (5-5), Sr. G/F Maddie Gaschler (5-8), Sr. G Natalie Harding (5-5), Sr. G Anna Wisniewski (5-5), Sr. F Jackie Lung (5-8), Jr. F Amber Head (5-8)

Newcomers: Jr. G Corrina Vaughen (5-4), Sr. G Mikki Pearl (5-5), Sr. F Becca Torres (5-4), Jr. G Marissa Miller (5-4), So. C Hayley Redmann (5-11), Jr. F Layne Elia (5-9)

Outlook: The Bulldogs opened their season Monday night with a 60-36 win over Marian Central and, since they don't play in a Thanksgiving tournament, will get two weeks to enjoy their 1-0 start. They're already feeling good. "We were very aggressive defensively," coach Jaime Dennis said. "The girls had on a lot of tips and were getting on the floor. I've never had a group that's this aggressive." Jessie Wood gives Dennis another reason to be excited about the season. She's playing her fourth season on varsity. "The thing about Jessie is, she's tall (5 feet 8), but yet she's more of a guard and we lack some height," Dennis said. "Her leadership has been great, as far as talking on the floor and getting things organized. Her confidence and shooting have gotten better every year." Senior guard Natalie Harding is playing her third season on varsity and returns to play heavy minutes again. Senior forward Maddie Gaschler will be sidelined several weeks, Dennis said, after severely rolling her ankle during tryouts. Also back are senior guard Paige Motley and 6-2 sophomore Katie Rossetti, who scored a team-high 17 points in the season opener. Rossetti started, after coming off the bench as a freshman. "She was definitely a woman on a mission," Dennis said. "She played very well. That year of varsity experience always does wonders. She's a lot more confident, a lot more aggressive." Junior forward Amber Head is back to provide low-post defense and rebounding. "We're very veteran-deep. Which is nice," Dennis said. "There's a lot of experience. There's a lot of things the girls already do that we don't have to teach them. It's going to allow us to do some different things with this team this year." While Rossetti was the Bulldog's only double-digit scorer in the opener, nine girls scored. "We definitely have a lot of weapons and a lot of people willing to step up and make some shots," Dennis said. "I was worried when we lost Lauren (Nee, 11.2 ppg, Elmhurst) because she was our leading scorer, but we still scored 60 points on Monday."