Scouting South Elgin Storm

South Elgin Storm

Coach Tim Prendergast (3rd year, 32-24)

Conference Upstate Eight

Last year 17-10 (6-4 UEC)

Top returners Seniors Sarah Havemann (5-3 G), Alyssa Krause (6-0 F), Breanna Smith (5-9 C), Dijon Smith (6-0 C); junior Kelsey Prince (5-6 F); sophomore Becca Smith (5-7 G)

Top newcomers Sophomores Lania Robinson (5-6 G), Lauren Vedrine (5-7 G), Dana McElwain (5-8 F), Emily Young (5-7 F)

Outlook With seven returning players and four promising sophomores on the varsity, the Storm should have another successful season. "I'm pretty encouraged," Prendergast said. "These girls are really athletic and we've never had this much depth. We've been up-tempo the last few years and now we're really going to push it. The kids like to run. We work on quick outlets and we push the ball in practice." Guard Becca Smith emerged as one of top underclass players in the area last season, averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Krause (5.0 ppg) is a 3-year starter and will be looked on to score more, while Prendergast said Dijon Smith (6.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) has gotten stronger and been impressive running the floor. He also said he's been impressed with the improvement of Havemann in the offseason. "We'll try to trap all over the floor and use our quickness to our advantage," Prendergast said. "We lost some size so my main concern is rebounding. Everybody will have to chip in."