Summer reading: Hersey players, coach seeing productive start to offseason
Three practices are only three practices. Enough for everyone to share their names, but not necessarily for everyone to know each other.
For Hersey girls basketball coach Courtney Ludois, this lack of familiarity didn’t cause any problems, as her team is already united by a common goal.
“The No. 1 thing that I like so far is our energy,” Ludois said. “I feel like we have a lot of really good kids that want to be here, that want to work hard. When you have that, you can build whatever.”
Hersey’s early-season construction is off to a productive start. The Huskies went 4-0 at the Windmill City Weekend Shootout in Batavia in June. After a 21-win season that included a trip to the sectional semifinals, the Huskies aim for improvement as players step into larger roles.
Rising senior Kate Donovan will be a key piece to the Huskies. The 5-foot-7 guard impressed in Hersey’s matchup against Downers Grove South in the shootout, collecting a steal and connecting on a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
“We go as she goes,” Ludois said of Donovan. “When she’s up on defense, everybody feeds off of her.”
Donovan, who has a scholarship offer from Purdue-Fort Wayne, heads into her second year as captain. She said she’s learned how to be an example on and off the court and wants to be more involved this season. Hersey lost six seniors from last year, and Donovan wants to continue their impact.
“I’m planning to volunteer more with the special needs program at Hersey and hope some of my teammates will join me,” she said. “I also want us to do more together off the court — like team breakfasts and movie nights to keep the team bonded. When I was a freshman on varsity, the seniors always included me, and I want to do the same for others.”
Donovan has a reliable post option in Sadie Marks, who earned an All-Area special mention last season. Senior Kiki Craft was the team’s leading rebounder last season, and Ludois sees Marks as taking up that mantle.
“Coach Ludois always tells us that rebounding is about pride, it's about who wants it more,” Marks said. “I constantly think about that while I'm on the court.”
Aside from rebounding, Marks said she’s worked on her offensive game in the paint, not necessarily adding new moves, but more so perfecting her arsenal, particularly in facing the basket and driving from the outside.
Donovan and Marks are joined by rising junior Emily Haney as well as rising sophomores Etta Fisher, Lexi Miyares and Ellie Molster.
“We’ve told them at the beginning, ‘You’re not freshmen anymore. We expect a lot more of you,’” Ludois said. “They’re going to start stepping into those starting roles.”
Winning its division of the Mid-Suburban League is Hersey’s first goal on the path to a successful season, and its summer performance is an early indicator of its potential.
“Just playing our best basketball by the end,” Ludois said. “I always tell them that by the end of the summer, we should have an idea of what type of team we’re gonna be. And I feel like we’re off to a good start.”