Scouting Mundelein girls basketball

Posted November 17, 2010 10:00 pm

By Joe Aguilar

COACH: Brian Evans (12th season)

LAST SEASON: 16-15, 3-9 in NSC Lake

LOSSES: G Brooke Evans (Oakland City University), G Toni Knar (Missouri University of Science and Technology), F Jessi Bjerning, G Megan Woit

RETURNEES: Sr. F Olivia Dunigan, Sr. G Megan Hanas, Sr. G Kate Wallen, Sr. G Maegan Schultz, Jr. G Amanda Davis, Jr. G Taylor Davis, Jr. C/F Rachael Millner

NEWCOMERS: Jr. G Molly Rosenow, Jr. F Angie Fersch, So. G Becca Woit

OUTLOOK: The two coaches' daughters understood when their coach talked about HARD work. So did Jessi Bjerning. But Bjerning graduated, and so did Mundelein boys coach Dick Knar's daughter (Toni) and girls coach Brian Evans' daughter (Brooke). "Right now it's hard watching, because all I remember is what I had the last couple of years," coach Brian Evans said. "I can't compare that. That's probably my fault." Evans returns only one starter in four-year varsity forward Olivia Dunigan, who opened the season with a career-best 27 points in the Mustangs' win over Glenbrook North on Monday night. The rest of the players are learning. "They're a close-knit group of girls and they mend together real well," Evans said. "They played a lot of ball over the summer. They don't point fingers at each other. They do what I ask them to do. But right now we don't have kids that have a chip on their shoulder. ... I keep telling them that their definition of playing hard and my definition of playing hard are Mount Everest and an ant hill. Unfortunately, my Mount Everest is not going to become the Rocky Mountains." Evans typically finds players who buy into his system and play relentlessly on the defensive end. The result, almost every single year, is a winning season. The returning players include junior twins Amanda and Taylor Davis and 6-foot junior Rachael Millner. Guard Maegan Schultz missed her junior season after tearing her ACL. "We're still trying to find an identity," Evans said. "We're going to go through some growing pains. Hopefully by midseason or after Christmas, they'll get used to it."

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