Scouting Waubonsie Valley girls basketball

Waubonsie Valley

Coach: Kim Connell.

Last year: 26-3, 10-0, first in the Upstate Eight Conference; lost to Bolingbrook 59-45 in Class 4A Oswego East sectional final.

Top players: Becky Williford, jr., G; Tami Morice, jr., G; Tanysha Gardner-Walls, sr., G; Rachael Ross, jr., F; Erica Jordan, jr., G; Gratia Brooks, so., F; Jordan Myers, sr., G/F.

Scouting report: A Warriors team that looked to bring everybody back from a sectional finalist took two big hits. Defensive stopper Jordan tore the ACL in her left knee in late July and won’t be back until January. Then, in October All-Area guard Keiera Ray transferred to Bolingbrook. “Obviously, we have a couple holes to fill,” Connell said. “The biggest question is how we do defensively.” On a bright note third-year varsity player Morice made big strides over the summer. Connell said her shot is “dead-on.” Connell calls team captain Williford “an extension of me” on the court and is one of the area’s better point guards. Connell thinks Ross could have a breakout season in the post. The Warriors are guard-heavy and not particularly deep. That shouldn’t stop them from dueling Bartlett for Upstate Eight Valley supremacy. “We’ll have the same philosophy nothing’s changed there,” Connell said. “We just need the returning kids to step up.”