Girls basketball: Scouting Lakes

LAKES

Coach: Pete Schneider (sixth season)

Last season: 5-24, 2-10 in NSC Prairie, lost to North Chicago in North Chicago regional semifinals

Key losses: Sam Ney (Lake Forest College), Kelsey Kohler (Carroll College), Alexis Lee

Returning players: Sr. G Alyssa Brey (5-2), Sr. G Nicole Denman (5-6), Jr. G Ellie Haviland (5-8), So. F/C Natalie Pawlak (5-11), Sr. F/C Olivia Pawlak (6-3), So. F Isabella Quaranta (5-10)

Newcomers: So. G Shannon Hurlbut (5-3), So. G Natalie Iacopetti (5-5), Jr. G Franchesca Panganiban (5-2), So. G/F Sarah Zellmann (5-9)

Outlook: The long strides are those of Olivia Pawlak, whose ballhandling skills and abilities to shoot and run the floor belie her 6-foot-3 frame. A returning starter, she was called up to varsity in the second half of her sophomore season. "She's gotten a lot stronger," coach Pete Schneider said. "She has the green to bring the ball down the floor. She really handles it that well." In order for the Eagles to make strides and return to the 17-win form that they showed in 2012-13, they need players like Pawlak and others to reach their potential, which Schneider believes is strong. Pawlak and junior point guard Ellie Haviland give what Schneider believes will be a good 1-2 punch for the Eagles, who look to bounce from last season's 5-win campaign. The starting lineup also figures to include 5-11 sophomore Natalie Pawlak (Olivia's sister) and possibly 5-10 sophomore Isabella Quaranta, both of whom were on varsity last season. "We'll probably be bigger than most teams," Schneider said. "We've got good size and really good athleticism." Haviland returns to run the point after being new on varsity last winter. "That was a big transition for her to go up to the varsity last year, but she did a good job," Schneider said. "We had some good senior kids last year, which helped her quite a bit. Ellie had a really good summer." Senior guards Alyssa Brey and Nicole Denman also played varsity minutes last season. Newcomers Shannon Hurlbut, Sarah Zellmann and Natalie Iacopetti are three of the five sophomores on the roster. Hurlbut, who's "lightning quick," Schneider said, is the sister of former Eagles guard Heather Hurlbut. Zellmann might be the best shooter on the team, Schneider said, while Iacopetti brings skills and athleticism too. "We knew the (freshman) class we had last year was really strong coming in," Schneider said. "The biggest thing was getting them to transition to high school and learning to play (at that level)." Schneider added that his team had a good summer, playing at Stevenson as well as a national tourney in Fort Wayne, Ind. "I think we're going to be OK," Schneider said. "They are really coming together. Last year we took our bumps and bruises a little bit and didn't have a great year. We knew that was going to happen." New to Schneider's staff is former Mundelein star Toni Knar, who just graduated from Missouri S & T. She is the daughter of former Mundelein coach Dick Knar. Schneider was the sophomore coach at Mundelein when Knar, a four-year varsity player, was there. "She comes from a coaching background, so she knows how to express it," Schneider said. "The kids love her. They call her 'Chill.' "