ECC has some experience

Anytime a team returns more than one impact player the outlook tends to trend upward.

Such is the case with the Elgin Community College women's basketball team, which returns a pair of key cogs from last year's squad that went 20-11, finished 9-3 in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and advanced to the region semifinals.

Seventh-year ECC coach Jerry McLaughlin welcomes back sophomores DeLarissa Morris (5-7, G, Streamwood) and Ariana Topps (5-9, F, East Aurora).

Topps was an all-conference first-team selection last year who averaged 12 points a contest and nearly 9 rebounds a game.

Morris earned all-conference second-team honors and averaged 11 points, while leading the Spartans in steals and assists.

"Those are two key players we have coming back," said McLaughlin.

The rest of the roster is loaded with newcomers. Jamie Jara (Bartlett), Alyssa Del Fava (Streamwood), Karin Herrera (Elgin) and Tammy Taylor (Elgin resident via Evanston Township) will help at the guard positions, while Jessica Turnage (East Aurora), Meaghan Staley-Gamble (Huntley) and Angelia Gafford (England) will add skill at the forward and center positions.

Staley-Gamble, the honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald's high school all-area team last season, had originally accepted an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, but will stay locally this season. Gafford attended an American high school in England.

"We've got a good combination of inside players and outside players," said McLaughlin. "We're working on fundamentals every day in practice and that is what is going to help us get over the hump and get to the next level. The keys for us will be making free throws and taking care of our lay-ups. Making free throws is a key. Every year that costs us half of our losses."

McLaughlin is pleased that he has a number of different scoring options on the team.

"We have different players that can step up," he said. "We don't care who scores. We talk more about being a team and being unselfish. I think we've got a balanced attack."

The veteran coach also continues to stress the education aspect.

"Our goal is to have everybody get a 3.0 GPA individually and as a team," said McLaughlin. "We're going to work hard on and off the floor and in the community and on campus."

McLaughlin expects another competitive conference season.

"We've got no easy games in our conference," said McLaughlin. "Our goals are to compete for a conference championship and do as well as we can in Region IV and try and win 20 games. The goals are always the same."

ECC will hit the road for a tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., starting Nov. 16. The Spartans will face Broward County C.C. and Florida C.C. there.

"We'll play two Division I programs (NJCAA) down there," said McLaughlin. "This is something we've done every other year."

ECC will host Harper Friday at 5 p.m. as part of a men's-women's doubleheader at the ECC Events Center. The Spartans bring a 1-1 mark into the non-conference game.

"There is no admission to our games," said McLaughlin, who also noted the team's Jan. 31 game (doubleheader again with the men) against Waubonsee is the school's "Spirit Night" outing.