By Bobby Narang
Entering the holiday tournament season, the West Chicago High School girls basketball team remains one of the surprise stories in Chicagoland. The Wildcats (13-4, 4-3, Upstate Eight Conference) won just eight games last season, and through two months of the season are off to their best start since 2011-2012.
Sophomore guard Jasmyn Triguers is leading the team in scoring and averaging nearly 23 points per game.
West Chicago head coach Mark Fitzgerald said his team’s defining trait is determination. Despite not having a senior on the roster, the Wildcats have pulled out several close victories.
“I continue to be impressed with our team’s determination to get better each and every day,” he said. “This young group of athletes have come so far this year, and it’s amazing to see the contributions they have made in putting West Chicago back on the girls basketball map.
“I’m very excited to see where this group of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, will take us the rest of the year and beyond.”
Fitzgerald pointed out the consistent play of Miranda Enochs and Kailey Sabala.
“Our two post players, Miranda and Kailey, have given us huge minutes with their strong play,” he said.
• Another team to watch in the second half of the season is Waubonsie Valley.
The Warriors (11-1, 3-0, DuPage Valley Conference) opened the season with an impressive 91-25 victory over Oswego to show signs of a memorable campaign. The Warriors’ lone blemish came in a 55-54 defeat to St. Charles East November 29. Waubonsie Valley head coach Brett Love said his team is playing strong for 32 minutes.
“We’re playing pretty well at this point in the season,” Love said. “Most of our games have been 15-plus point wins. We have a talented and athletic young group that bonds well with each other. I’m looking forward to be tested to see what we need to work on and how we respond.”
Senior guard Khaliah Reid, a transfer from Metea Valley, has been a spark and averaging 17 points per game. Senior Taylor Curry is averaging 15 points and freshman Danyella Mporokoso is averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game, while sophomore returnee Lily Newton is averaging 9.5 rebounds.
“I believe we have a great potential based on the first half of the season,” Love said. “We’re taking it one game at a time, but we are also focused on growing one practice and one game at a time. We look forward to a 20-plus game winning season and would like to go far in postseason.”