Prospect sophomore Mandy Withey is more than just an exceptional rebounder. She’s also happy to oblige if a singer is needed for the national anthem before a game, like she did before facing Glenbrook South on Feb. 1 in Mount Prospect.
“Getting down to the low notes is the hard part for me. Once I get to the high notes, I’m OK,” Withey said. “But it’s definitely nerve-wracking.”
Getting up high toward the rim has also been no problem for Withey. She had 16 rebounds to go with 16 points in a hard-fought 52-46 loss to the Titans.
The most rebounds she’s had in a game is 21, which she pulled down against Niles West on Nov. 18.
“She reads it well off the rim, and then she just out-hustles everyone,” Prospect coach Gabrielle Lovin said. “It’s something you don’t coach. What she has is something that an athlete comes in with. She’s a firecracker.”
At 5-foot-11, Withey isn’t always the tallest post player on the floor. But she has a long reach and another quality that helps her.
“I can jump pretty high, so that’s helpful,” Withey said. “But it’s about positioning, too. My dad always tells me to watch how players shoot and how it comes off the rim. Then, you just have to go for it.”
Rebounding runs in the Withey bloodline. Withey’s uncle, Paul Withey, graduated from Prospect in 1975 and still holds the boys program record for rebounds for a season and for a career.
Mandy Withey had 225 rebounds through Feb. 1 to put her in reach of the single-season girls record of Molly May (285) set in 2002. Paul Withey’s best year was 311 in 1974.
Mandy Withey’s leaping ability also helps her as a varsity volleyball player in the fall and as a varsity long jumper in the spring. But Withey is more than just an athlete with a strong pair of legs, and Lovin said she wants to see her expand beyond being an offensive player who scores on putbacks and by driving to the basket.
“We’re starting to get her playing with her back to the rim,” Lovin said. “She’s a (forward) right now, sort of a slasher, and next we want to start building her into a (center). And she actually has a pretty good outside shot, but she doesn’t always take it. She has a good 15-footer.”
Withey said she knows that post play is the next step in her development as a basketball player.
“It’s all footwork,” Withey said. “Your touch is obviously important, but footwork is the most important part of it. I worked over the summer a lot at that, and I’ve gotten better at it. I most want to keep improving my rebounding and getting to the hoop and improving my post strength.
“Sometimes I get a little hesitant, but I definitely have to start shooting it more from the outside. Especially when my teammates are on fire, I like to give them the ball. But I know I have to get better at that.”
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The Knights (11-13) have to get better at a few things as well, but a six-point loss to a 20-win Glenbrook South team showed the Knights they can compete against elite teams.
“We fought well against them. Our defense was good, and our offense was solid. We just needed to spread out a little more,” Withey said. “Our defense is getting better, and our help defense is definitely getting better.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press