The painful lessons seemed to come every night for Glenbrook South’s girls basketball team last year.
Yet as the season progressed and the young talent developed, coach Steve Weissenstein and the Titans knew better days were ahead.
The better days are here.
Glenbrook South improved to 8-0 this weekend, beating rival Glenbrook North 81-33 and pulling out a 10-point win against Maine South. More than the wins, though, the Titans are flexing their muscles on both sides of the court and looking like a legitimate Central Suburban League contender.
“We have a really good team,” Weissenstein said. “Last year we were just so young and had a rough start, but we also played a killer schedule. Even though we were getting our backsides handed to us, it made us a good team. By the end of the year we were a pretty good team for being under .500. The girls just worked so hard.”
Their double-overtime Class 4A regional loss to Loyola last year showed the Titans’ potential. A team that started the season 0-5 and finished 13-15 was jelling and gaining experience. Glenbrook South beat New Trier in the regular-season finale, then watched the Trevians advance to the 4A supersectionals.
Now the Titans are putting up big numbers. They have yet to allow an opponent more than 40 points. The biggest scare of the season came last weekend when they beat Maine South 48-38.
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The key has been strong defense and balanced scoring. Sophomore Carie Weinman, a 5-foot-8 guard, was the team’s leading scorer last year. And while she still leads the team in assists, she’s the team’s fourth best scorer through eight games. Top honors go to 6-2 senior Ashley Oldshue, an Emory commit shooting about 60 percent from the floor.
Add to the mix Caitlin Morrison, a 6-2 junior returning all-conference sharpshooter and the team’s leading rebounder, along with classmates Sydney DeHorn and Sarah McDonagh, both defensive specialists, and the Titans are looking to cause fits night after night.
“I figured we would be good offensively, but nobody’s scored 40 on us yet, and that’s been our calling card,” Weissenstein said. “And that kind of surprises me because I thought that would be the end of the floor we struggle with. But through eight games we’ve had six different girls lead us in scoring.”
The Titans continue to fly under the radar, but after their hot start and six 20-plus point victories, that won’t last long.
“I like other teams to not know who we are,” Weissenstein said. “It’s only eight games and we’ve still got a lot of basketball to play. But I like what I’ve seen so far.”