Andrean guard Liv Delevic has become a different player in her junior season.
Describing the impact of that change, coach Tony Scheub perhaps provided a glimpse into one of the team’s postseason awards.
“She’s our biggest surprise player of this season, most improved, however you want to say it,” Scheub said.
The 59ers (25-3) aren’t nearly ready for their season to end. They won their first regional title since 1999 and will play Lapel (20-7) in the semifinals of the Class 2A Logansport Semistate on Saturday morning, seeking their first title at that level of the postseason.
But it’s clear the 5-foot-2 Delevic’s transformation is a key factor in that success.
“Coming into this season, we didn’t know what to expect from Liv,” Scheub said. “Over the summer, she struggled a little bit defensively. She’s a good shooter, and we knew that. But we have a lot of good shooters.
“At the beginning of the year, we were still struggling with her on defense a little bit. I told her, ‘I know you’re a good shooter, but for you to stay on the floor, you’re going to have to play defense and not turn the ball over.'”
Delevic, who missed the end of last season with a knee injury, took Scheub’s advice and ran with it.
“Progressively, as the season went on, she’s become one of our better on-the-ball defenders,” he said. “She’s really good at help-side defense. She’s a great communicator — probably our best communicator on defense that we have.
“She went from being a liability, in our minds, to, ‘OK, she can guard the point guard now.’ It’s fun to see her develop and improve that much throughout the year.”
To underscore Delevic’s value, Scheub pointed to a subtle moment during Andrean’s 41-32 regional victory against North Miami on Feb. 11.
“(Emily) Ziegelhofer was coming in, and Liv was talking to her on the sideline, saying, ‘Hey, when you get in, you have to be physical,'” Scheub said. “It was just fun to see the kid being a leader on the floor and coaching other players up too.
“She has become a player who, when she comes out, sometimes it’s like, ‘Hey, we have to get Liv back in.’ It’s because of those things — communication, her defense and not turning the ball over. She still does hit the occasional three. But when you have Tori (Allen), when you have Lindsay (Arcella), those two are such good shooters, and they’re going to be the first options on our team, and Lauren (Colon) is also a good shooter. So she found her role, and she’s excelling in it.”
Indeed, Delevic has adjusted her game. She was averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds entering the regional.
“I’ve always been a shooter,” she said. “But something I feel like I’ve improved on most is defense and my energy. One thing Scheub always says to me is, ‘We need your energy Saturday.’
“What I try to do to contribute to the team is keep everyone in a positive mindset and bring that energy when something isn’t going right. Just cheering on the girls, even after a mistake’s made, let them know like, ‘Hey, I have your back. Just get a stop on the other end.’ I’ll always take an open shot and knock it down when I can. But my big thing is defense and bringing energy.”
Delevic, who played on both the varsity and junior varsity teams last season, largely is happy to be playing at all.
She injured her left knee late last season. Although a visit to a specialist in Indianapolis revealed no tears — it initially was feared she tore her ACL — she suffered a deep bone bruise. She missed the last five regular-season games and the 59ers’ run to regionals, winding up sidelined for three months.
“I had to wear this big, honking brace that locks your knee up,” Delevic said.
She returned for her AAU season and summer workouts with the 59ers ahead of what has proved to be a special season.
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Arcella, a sophomore guard who also is AAU teammates with Delevic, is glad to have her back.
“She hustles and brings a lot of spirit to the team,” Arcella said. “She really does a lot. Even when she’s on the bench, she’s adding energy. She’s always very out there.”
If the 59ers win Saturday morning, they will play either Central Noble (25-2) or Lafayette Central Catholic (20-6) at night.
“We’re all still kind of soaking it in because last year we didn’t have this week together,” Delevic said. “It feels pretty good just knowing we’re guaranteed another week together, another game together. We’ve just been talking about the things we need to do, the things we need to prepare.
“We have to stay in the moment. Hopefully we can get through that first game and then go win a semistate.”