Last season, the Evanston Township High School girls basketball team finished the season with a loss to Niles West, 41-40, in the Class 4A Evanston Regional championship game. The Wildkits hope to get rid of that bad taste when they begin the season next week.
The Kits open their season on Nov. 18 when they take on North Chicago as part of the Deerfield Tournament which goes until Nov. 27, and then they play their home opener on Nov. 30 against Deerfield in Beardsley Gym.
Regarding the Deerfield tournament, head coach Steve Wool said, “It should be a good measuring stick as to where we are at [this early in the season].”
The 2010-11 Kits should have no problems with growing pains, having nine seniors on the roster. With the senior leadership they have, Coach Wool said, “We plan on being very competitive this season.”
The Kits will be led by seniors Leiya English, who is a three-year varsity starter, Nichelle Campbell, who led the Kits in rebounding last year, Emma Mihevic, Allison Slaughter, Bianca James, Shannon Lorenz, Kaylyn Bonderant, Chelsea Ransom, and Alexa Bolden.
When asked which games he is looking forward to this year, the coach said, “Our Conference schedule is always big. [There are] lots of tough teams in [Central Suburban League South] this year. It should be a war every night.”
The Kits open the Conference schedule on Dec. 3 at Glenbrook South, followed by Maine South on Dec. 7 and Waukegan on Dec. 10. A few of the key matchups for the Kits this year include the annual Dundee-Crown Tournament beginning on Dec. 27. The first of two meetings with archrival New Trier will be played on Jan. 7 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Kits finished last season with an overall record of,14-15. In order to build on that record, Wool said, “We plan on using our experience and depth to our advantage.” He added, “We have two new freshmen, Seara and Sierra Clayborn, who will step in and help.”
The Kits will need as much help as they can get early in the season since the roster has been hit already by injuries. English will be out for about two weeks with a nose injury, Sierra Clayborn will be out one week with an injured finger. James is out with a back injury and Campbell has a hurt shoulder. The timetable of their returns is uncertain.
“We have sustained quite a few injuries that will give us a slow start to the season,” said Coach Wool. He added, “[I’m] just looking forward to what we can do with this group of young ladies.”