Girls Basketball: Balanced scoring will steer Loyola

Updated: November 8, 2011 8:18PM

Loyola’s girls basketball team will be defined by its seniors this season.

But another player will stand out this year.

Freshman Sarah Elston rivals K.C. Stralka for tallest player on the Ramblers, and coach Jeremy Schoenecker already sees the 5-foot-11 forward as a contributor in her rookie season.

“She really has a great handle on the game, a great basketball IQ,” the coach said. “She’s fit into our team well so far. We will not put a whole lot of emphasis on her to score for us, but she does a great job on the defensive end of the court. She has a good grasp of it.”

Among the other veterans back for Loyola include seniors Lauren Kriz, Michelle Ricolcol, Mary Kate O’Malley and Colleen McShane. Junior Anna Schueler also will figure into the team’s plans again this season.

Kriz and Ricolcol both started a majority of the games last season, while Schueler was included in a handful of games.

Schoenecker already said Kriz and Ricolcol have embraced their roles as team leaders and look to bring Loyola its first regional championship since the 2008-09 season.

“Both of them are doing a fantastic job,” said the coach, whose team went 22-9 last year. “They are understanding what seniors should do. Also, both of them have grown offensively. They are taking a larger role on that end.”

With the graduation of Carrie Schoeneberger and Katie Faught, Ricolcol and Schueler will be asked to contribute points this season. But Schoenecker sees the Ramblers depending on their balance on offense.

“I think Anna and Michelle could be our two top weapons and will carry that load,” he said. “But we have several girls capable of scoring, and I feel good about that. Even if teams take away Anna, we have other options.”

McShane will be in charge of managing the offense at point guard, taking over for Nicole Gleason, who also graduated.

“She understands her role of distributing the ball and getting it in the right person’s hands,” Schoenecker said. “She makes great reads. She’s going to get her shots by Anna and Michelle creating for her.”

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