Lake Station Eagles
Last season: 6-15, 2-7 GSSC, lost in Class 2A River Forest Sectional to Wheeler
Inside the Eagles
Leading returning scorer: Joanna Dwyer, 13.6 ppg
Leading returning rebounder: Desiree Parrillo, 7.2 rpg
Star power: Joanna Dwyer, Jr., G. Dwyer serves as the go-to scorer for the Eagles. She'll be looked upon to increase her scoring even more this season while also serving as a leader.
Newcomers to watch: Lindsay Austin, Jr., F; Tonya Blair, Sr., G/F. Austin possesses excellent fundamentals and will be a starter this season, while Blair is back from an injury sustained during volleyball season last year that sidelined her for all of her junior basketball season.
Breakdown
Continuing to change the mentality
A total of 44 girls came out for the basketball program this season, and 30 remain, allowing the Eagles to field a "C" team for the first time in recent memory. A lot of that has to do with the fact that coach Kristy Hite-Balboa continues to instill a winning mentality into the player's minds. The six wins from last season mirror the total victories from 2010-11, but the Eagles were much more competitive, with five of their losses by less than 10 points. "I expect them to play hard and come out wanting to win every game," Hite-Balboa said. "I want them to know that we've come a long way, and we started winning. We can continue to win as long as they have that positive attitude." Dwyer will be looked upon to score even more this season with an increased confidence on the court. Dwyer played AAU ball for the first time this summer against athletes from bigger schools, which should pay dividends this season. "I think I'm going to help people with keeping their confidence up," she said. Lake Station should compete much better in the Greater South Shore Conference this season than it has in the past.
-- Matt Douthett
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