After a promising start to the 2022-23 girls’ basketball season, the West Chicago Community High School Wildcats finished 23-8.
There was no point in the season when the girls let down their guard – they rebounded from every loss with a series of wins. Ultimately, the team finished strong, coming in 14-4, or in third place, in the Upstate Eight conference.
Just like last season, the girls started off hot winning their first four games by a combined score of 218-81 taking down Earlville, Rockford East, IMSA, and Elgin. Wheaton Academy handed West Chicago their first loss in a close 50-42 game, but they went on to win their next two games against conference rivals Streamwood and Bartlett.
The team was clearly riding a streak of good playing and good fortune as they won 5 or the next 7 games, improving their record to 11-4 by the halfway point.
Fast forward to the playoffs: in the first round, the girls faced off against St. Charles East. The Saints came into this match-up averaging 53 points per game and allowing 45.7 points per game, with an average margin of +7.3 per game. The Wildcats came in averaging 45.2 points per game and conceding 37.5 points per game. The average margin was +7.7 points per game. Both teams were evenly matched with approximately the same average win margin.
“Going into the game, I was expecting us to get beat by a lot, but I think we played really well defensively. Our offense was just not on. Nobody was making their shots. Obviously Jas made twenty shots, but we weren’t making what we usually make,” senior Sydney Bennema said.
Throughout the round, the Wildcats kept it close, but were not able to pull away with a win, ending their season with a 47-36 loss.
“They were a very aggressive team. I know that their best player got a technical, so they were just – some may say they wanted it more, but I thought it was a pretty good game,” Bennema said.
After a phenomenal season a few players stood out being all-conference or all-conference honorable mentions. Seniors Miranda Enochs and Sydney Bennema were all-conference honorable mentions, and Jasmyn Trigueros was selected to all-conference as a junior. With the way she played, she should repeat as an all-conference next year.
“This season was bonding with teammates. I think my favorite moment was Senior Night because there were a lot of people there, and I just felt like we were really supported by the school. I think one thing I’ll miss the most is my teammates,” senior Qamaree Williams said.
The bond among the girls was evident. Many of the players have played on the same team since third grade, and have grown together as players and individuals.
“Honestly, I just really loved growing up with these girls. We all had individual bonds, and my favorite memory would probably be that after practice, me and my friends would just go sit in the car and talk about stuff going on, and it just always seemed like it clicked. I’ve made so many friends through sports and basketball. They’re honestly my sisters,” senior Kailey Sabala said.
