Scouting Stevenson girls basketball

STEVENSON

COACH: Tom Dineen (second season, 31st overall)

LAST SEASON: 21-8, 8-4 in NSC Lake

LOSSES: C Kelsey Simon (Miami University, Ohio)

RETURNEES: Sr. G Michelle O’Brien (Western Michigan University), Sr. G Anna Morrissey (Michigan State University), So. G Kari Moffat, Sr. F McKinley Imus, Jr. G Katie Batman, Sr. F Ashley Niedermayer, Sr. G Micaela Miller, So. F Alex Elzinga

NEWCOMERS: Jr. C Julia Dabrowski, Jr. G Hayley Arenson

OUTLOOK: The hall-of-famer’s addition made quite a difference. In the end, though, the difference between a few points here or there left coach Tom Dineen and his Patriots yearning for more. In Year 1 under former Buffalo Grove coach Dineen, the Patriots made a 9-win improvement. Their 8 losses were by a combined 28 points. Seven of their defeats were by 4 or fewer points, including two in overtime. “I had two major concerns,” Dineen said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well, and we didn’t know how to win. Those seven games, we could have very easily won all seven of them.” So, this summer, learning how to close out games was a point of emphasis. Dineen liked what he saw. “You don’t win championships in the summer,” Dineen said. “But we won 25 in a row this summer.” And, shooting-wise, Dineen said, the difference was “night and day.” He gave his players a goal to shoot 2,000 shots a week. “I’m confident that each of them accomplished that goal,” he said. ... The Patriots are led by senior guard Michelle O’Brien, a Western Michigan recruit who was the captain of the Daily Herald’s Lake County All-Area team after averaging 16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds. Fellow senior guard Anna Morrissey, a great defensive player, has accepted an offer to be a preferred walk-on at Michigan State. O’Brien and Morrissey are both four-year varsity players. Sophomore Kari Moffat started most of last season at the point and often wowed with her skill set and court awareness. “She’s getting some D-I looks already,” Dineen said. McKinley Imus, another returning starter, is coming off mono. Junior Julia Dabrowski stands 6-3. She should be a defensive presence and will perhaps help compensate for the loss of 6-2 Kelsey Simon (Miami Ohio). Both Dabrowski and guard Hayley Arenson started on the sophomore team last year. They’ll provide depth to a team that lost only one starter in Simon and is expected to have an even better season than it did a year ago. That said, Dineen won’t let his team be content. “We got a tough schedule,” the coach said. “It’s not going to come as easy for them during the regular season as it did during the summer.” ... Stevenson defeated Zion-Benton in its season opener Monday night, giving Dineen his 699th career win. The Patriots next play Wednesday (8 p.m.) against Maine West in the Maine West Tipoff Classic.