Scouting Antioch

ANTIOCH

Coach: Tim Borries (12th season)

Last season: 11-17, 6-8 in NLCC, lost to Lakes in Class 3A Antioch regional semifinals

Key losses: G Taylor Feltner, G Olivia Ori

Returning players: Sr. G Piper Foote, Sr. G Sam Brown, Sr. F Kate Stay, Sr. F Rachel Phillips, Sr. F Noor Abdellatif, Jr. F/C Skylar Del'ao, So. G Gianna Riforgiato, So. F Faith Miller, So. G Hailey Webb

Newcomers: Jr. G Nayla Loos, Jr. G Molly Volkmar, Jr. F/G Miranda Chamberlein, So. G Erin Miller, Fr. F Avery Larson

Outlook: In their first season after winning 109 games and two sectional titles in four years with superstar twins Amy and Ashley Reiser, the Sequoits, not surprisingly, were not the same team. A young group started 0-8 and never recovered. And it's still not a veteran team. “We were young last year, and we're young again this year,” coach Tim Borries said. “But they're a year older. Hopefully this is the last year we'll say, ‘We're young.' ” Athletic guard Piper Foote and forward Rachel Phillips are the only seniors who started last season. Foote, a Western Illinois softball recruit and state qualifier in tennis, is playing her fourth season on varsity. A pesky defender, Foote started on the squad that lost to Marshall in the supersectionals in 2017. Phillips, while only 5 feet 7, progressed throughout last season and established herself as a reliable rebounder. “She went on a three- or four- or five-game tear where she was just rebounding the heck out of the ball,” Borries said. Sophomore Faith Miller and senior Kate Stay also earned regular playing-time last winter. “A lot of people got playing-time on the court, but we'll see if that experience they got last year will help them this year,” Borries said. The good news was, the Sequoits recovered from their slow start to go 11-7 in their next 18 games, before losing their final two of the season. “Basketball is such a long season,” Borries said. “They figure it out. They figure out how to play defense. You got to be more than one dimensional at this level” Borries has an intriguing newcomer in 6-1 freshman Avery Larson, who's athletic (she used to play soccer) but thin. She plays AAU ball with Illinois Elite. “She can play outside or inside,” Borries said. “She just won't have the physical size yet. But skills-wise, she can hang in there.” Borries projected junior Nayla Loos as a backup point guard last year, but she missed the season with shoulder injury. “She is a true point guard,” Borries said. “She sees the court great. She attacks the basket, she can pass, and she can shoot.” Borries says he's taking a different approach to his coaching style this season. That change is due, in part, to the fact that he suffered a heart attack early last spring. He's trying to control his emotions more. “I'm not going to get on them,” Borries said. “I'm just going to play somebody else. Either you perform, or you're not going to get a chance to perform. We want them to play hard.”