Lake Forest High School’s Halle Douglass (No. 21) goes for a steal against Lake Forest Academy’s Ramatoulaye Keita at the recent Vernon Hills Tournament. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Plenty has changed with the Lake Forest High School girls basketball team.
But not this: Halle Douglass is still a stat-stuffing, play-making whiz.
As expected, the 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, who has received two scholarship offers so far (Loyola University and Valparaiso), got off to a terrific start at the recent 9th Annual Vernon Hills Tournament.
In helping the Scouts to a respectable 3-2 record, Douglass put her all-around skills on display. She averaged 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.2 steals in the five-game set.
“She just goes out there and controls the flow of the game,” said LF head coach Kyle Wilhelm.
In LF’s tourney finale on Nov. 21, a 56-28 victory over Elk Grove, Douglass tallied seven points in the first six minutes and wound up with 12 points, three assists and four steals in three quarters of action.
LF’s other wins came against Vernon Hills 66-50 and Antioch 61-20, while the Scouts fell short against Lake Forest Academy 36-34 and tourney champ Sycamore 42-36.
Douglass was at her best against the host Cougars: 21 points, five rebounds, four steals, five deflections and sixth assists.
Her other stat highlights included seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and for steals against Sycamore; six points, four rebounds, seven assists and five steals against Antioch; and 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals against LFA.
The offseason was tough on the Scouts. Senior Maeve Summerville, a three-year starter and two-time all-conference player, sustained an ACL injury while playing club basketball. The 6-foot-1 forward, who will play her college basketball at DePauw University, is hoping to return for the playoffs.
The Scouts also graduated Delaney Williams, a three-time all-conference point guard. She is playing hoops at Wittenberg University.
Thus, it’s a bit of a transition year for the Scouts, who won 23 games last winter, including a regional championship.
In addition to Douglass, the other returners include seniors Audrey Kaus, Veronica Giordano, Annie Aberle, Olivia Douglass and Jen Whittington and juniors Grace Tirzmalis, Ellie Pearson and Courtney Schmidt.
The newcomers are sophomore Honor Thomas and freshmen Lilly Trkla and Finola Summerville.
Whittington’s top effort came against Elk Grove, when she produced 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“She’s off to a great start,” said Wilhelm. “I’m proud of what she’s doing. She didn’t play a lot last year, but she worked real hard in the offseason. She’s real coachable.”
Kaus, who will play lacrosse at the University of Chicago next year, missed the first two games of the tourney with an injury. She’s super athletic. And she goes all out.
“She’s going to be a key contributor for us,” Wilhelm said.
Tirzmalis turned in solid work against Antioch (11 points, 4 rebounds), Sycamore (9 points, 3 rebounds) and LFA (7 points), while Olivia Douglass accounted for five rebounds, two steals and three assists in the win over Vernon Hills and three rebounds and three steals against Sycamore.
Pearson’s most productive contest came against Elk Grove: 6 points, 7 rebounds. She had five points and five rebounds against LFA.
Thomas, Trkla and Summerville certainly are three up-and-coming players. Thomas had nine points and seven boards against Antioch.
Summerville tallied eight points and nine rebounds in the opener against LFA. She had seven points against Antioch.
“Finola helps us in a lot of different ways,” said Wilhelm. “She’s got a high basketball IQ.”
Trkla scored in double figures in three games: 10 vs. Elk Grove, 12 vs. Vernon Hills and 13 vs. Antioch. She also pulled down seven caroms in the games against Elk Grove, Sycamore and Vernon Hills.
“She positions herself well underneath. She’s relentless on the boards,” Wilhelm said. “She really hones in on what she’s good at.”
Meanwhile, Lake Forest have started 2-0 in North Suburban Conference action. The Scouts downed visiting Mundelein 40-32 on Nov. 28.
Halle Douglass and Pearson led the way with 12 points apiece. Douglass also had seven rebounds, nine steals and seven assists.
The leading rebounder was Tirzmalis (8).
Then, on Nov. 30, LF took care of host Waukegan 62-27. Whittington led the team in scoring (16 points), while Halle Douglass had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The other stat leaders were Trkla (8 points, 6 rebounds), Giordano (5 steals) and Kaus (4 steals).
Lake Forest High School’s Halle Douglass (No. 21) goes for a steal against Lake Forest Academy’s Ramatoulaye Keita at the recent Vernon Hills Tournament. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER