Addison Trail advances to semifinals with win vs. Lisle

Sophomore Mary Velez is one of the fresh faces on the new-look Addison Trail girls basketball team.

It's unlike any Addison Trail team you've seen in, well, decades.

Senior point guard Demi Koulogeorgas tallied 14 points and Velez, a 5-foot-9 forward, added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals on Friday as the Blazers rolled to a 52-36 win over Lisle in the quarterfinals of the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for Addison Trail under first-year coach Cory Little, a 1997 Addison Trail alum who is quickly making the Blazers relevant.

"After so many years, we're finally back," Velez said. "I feel like the new coaching staff allows us to bond differently than how we were originally, and since we all trust each other in a way we haven't before, it helps us come together to work together and win games."

The Blazers (9-5) have been doing it with hard work while adapting to Little's old-school tactics. They demonstrated that against Lisle, playing solid defense and making good cuts and reads on offense.

"All season long we've been talking about grinding games out and these girls have bought into that," Little said. "Even at practice, they compete against each other.

"My coaching staff has been really good at breaking drills down to get these girls to compete at levels, I won't say they haven't been, but they're adjusting to a new style of play and work.

"We've talked about putting the pick-and-roll back in, running the high low, stuff that basketball has gotten away from. It was good basketball when we played and we're trying to bringing it back. We're trying to get them to play the game the way we played it."

The back-to-the-future concept got the better of Lisle, which could not slow down the Blazers in the first quarter. Five players scored as Addison Trail raced out to a 13-0 lead.

The Lions (14-2) missed their first 13 shots and were 4 for 27 in the first half.

"I feel like (the difference) was defense," Koulogeorgas said. "We were rebounding, we weren't letting them score.

"They only scored off of free throws and that's how you got to keep them. If you want to win, you've got to play good defense. Offense will come."

Cassidy Allen scored 6 of her team-high 14 points in the second quarter to pull the Lions within 23-14 at halftime, but Koulogeorgas sank off 3 of her second-half shots and Quiana Birmingham tallied 7 of her 10 points in the third quarter as the Blazers bumped the lead back up to 43-23.

Nancy Obrzut and Ally Severino each contributed 6 points for Addison Trail, which shot 52 percent and racked up 12 assists, including 5 from Severino and 3 each from Birmingham and Juliana Nasti.

Not bad for a team that has only two seniors. The youth may actually be an asset.

"We have a very young team this year and I'm very grateful for it because that means I get to play with the same girls I've been playing with for a while," Velez said. "We're starting to turn things around.

"Our new coaching staff is amazing and we just have this amazing bond that keeps us going through everything."

Koulogeorgas is the straw who stirs the drink.

"My role is the leader," Koulogeorgas said. "I've got to do everything I get asked and I've got to control everyone. I've got to make sure everyone does their part for us to succeed."

It's working so far.

"It's really fun," Koulogeorgas said. "(Winning) is something new and I really enjoy the girls. We get along really well."