When the Libertyville girls basketball team reflects on its 2015-16 season, the hope is it will be remembered as a step toward something much bigger.
The Wildcats finished with a 15-13 record, went 6-6 in the North Suburban Lake, and at times looked like they were capable of beating anyone. They started the year with a 4-7 record, then went 11-6 the rest of the way. Starting point guard Maggie Piazzi, who will graduate, was also injured the first half of the year.
Junior Riley Weis did a solid job in Piazzi’s absence and gained valuable experience in the process. She’s expected to be an important piece of the puzzle when the team returns.
“I think one of our biggest strengths as a team was our unselfishness,” Weis said. “But at times, it was also one of our biggest problems, too. We learned to play together as a unit, but there were games where we passed up too many open shots. Hopefully this season gave us a big boost of confidence, and we use that to take things to the next level.”
Wildcats coach Greg Pedersen challenged his players to make this offseason count.
“I think how much we progress is completely up to our players, and how hard they’re willing to work on their conditioning this offseason,” Pedersen said. “Specifically, strength training and cross training. We have to be able to keep up with the teams we face and be able to match their physicality. And it’s on the girls to do the things necessary in their spare time to prepare for that.
“If you look at the best teams in our area, and the best players … those teams and players have made a year-round commitment toward getting better. Basketball for those individuals has become something they spend probably 11 months out of the year committing to.”
That kind of commitment is even more important because of the quality of many returning players in the North Suburban Conference.
“Next year isn’t going to get any easier,” Pedersen said. “Yeah, I’m very optimistic about our chances. But at the same time, if you look at the rosters of a lot of the teams we play, many of their best players were sophomores or juniors who are coming back.”
Libertyville is one of those teams. In addition to Weis, the Wildcats are expected to return three-year starting forward Claire Keefe (13 points, eight rebounds per game), forward Caroline Frea and guards Hannah Heraty, Molly Cayce and Maggie O’Sullivan. All five were juniors this season.
“Honestly, when I look ahead, I see championships,” Keefe said. “But it’s up to us to make that a reality. We’re gonna miss our departing seniors, who brought so much to the team, but we have enough players with experience coming back to do some real damage.
“I’ve talked with a lot of those returning players about how this is our last chance to leave our mark, which we plan on using as motivation. A lot of us have been playing together for a long time, and we’ve built tremendous chemistry. So there’s no reason why we can’t accomplish our goals next year.”
Tim Froehlig is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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Twitter: @TFroehlig