Gilliam, Addison Trail push the pace

Addison Trail senior post player Serena Gilliam felt ready to play basketball Monday.

"I woke up this morning, I could actually breathe," she said with a laugh, glad to be rid of a pesky cold.

The Blazers created some breathing room early in their nonconference game against visiting West Chicago, scoring the first 13 points in a 41-12 victory.

"It was good," Gilliam said. "It was really fun. It was nice to play with control. And we got to practice our outside shots more today."

The Blazers moved to 4-3 on the season heading into West Suburban Gold games against archrival Willowbrook and Downers Grove South.

"We've been doing pretty well," Gilliam said. "Some games it's a little slower, and as long as we push it, we do really well. Like when we run full-court press we've been getting steals, and when we keep the pace fast we've been doing really well."

Gilliam also has been doing very well lately, the product of off-season work on her post moves.

"I know my coach (Rob Schader) is always telling me I have more potential and I should start scoring more," she said. "So I wanted to work hard and get to that point, especially for my senior year."

Gilliam and sophomore post player Mia Johnson led all scorers with 10 points apiece in limited minutes. That total is well below what Gilliam has been scoring lately, but the Blazers didn't need much production from her Monday.

"It was crazy," she said. "Like, the last two games my friends told me, like, 'Nice, 22 points, 17 points.' I was like, That's how much I scored? I didn't even realize."

West Chicago (0-9) is struggling so far this season and was outnumbered with just seven girls in uniform. The Wildcats have no seniors on the roster.

"We've got a couple that are nicked up a little bit and the ones that are actually out there, they're playing full of vinegar," first-year West Chicago coach T.J. Nall said. "We talk about it every day in practice how they just have to be full of vinegar, that inner pirate attitude that they gotta have. We'll play with what we got. They'll compete."

Sophomore Shailee Patel led the Wildcats with 5 points.