Spencer Rose
Staff Reporter

They don’t put tournaments and invites at the beginning of the season for nothing. The point is to give teams an idea of how they will fare in the upcoming year. For the girls basketball team, this early-season test came in the form of the Schaumburg Thanksgiving Classic tournament.

The girls took a hard route to the top before losing in the championship game to Rockford Boylan, 63-53. Plagued by turnovers and poor shooting, South fell to the strong Catholic school squad. The Titans shot a dreadful 36 percent from the field.

“Our biggest issue was our shooting and that Rockford Boylan was 24-30 from the free throw line,” head coach Steve Weissenstein said.

The championship game was the Titans’ only loss in the entire tournament, with their first of four wins over St. Charles East, 55-43.

“It was the first game of our season and it was really exciting to finally see our teamwork and [our team] play hard. The team has definitely improved since last year,” said senior Suzanne Jobski, who had two 17-point games in the tourney.

After the victory over St. Charles, the girls went on to beat Lane Tech and Wheaton-Warrenville South. The large margin of victory in the games boosted the girls’ confidence.

The most impressive game for the Titans was the game against the hosting Schaumburg Saxons. Jobski had 17 and senior Jessica Pedraza put up 10 points in the win, marking the fifth-straight game where at least two girls hit double digits.

“Our defense led to several offensive opportunities,” Weissenstein said.

Captain Danielle Drews, Pedraza, and Jobski were named to the all-tournament team.

Their strong finish at Schaumburg put pressure on the Titans to do well, and they have responded by posting a 3-1 record since, including two big conference wins. So far their only loss in conference play has been to New Trier.

Their first conference win came in their home opener Dec. 9, when the girls held Waukegan to just 21 points. The Titan defense allowed just one point in the entire second half.

Despite the early success, the players are aware that there is still much work to be done.

“We have a great offense and a great defense, but we’re still meshing as a varsity team,” Jobski said.
The Titan’s next game is away at 7:30 p.m. tonight against CSL powerhouse Maine South.