Grayslake Central High School’s girls’ varsity basketball season ended on February 26, 2024, against Montini Catholic School in Super-Sectionals with a loss of 44-25.
This was a huge moment for the girls’ basketball team being one of the last eight schools in their division of class 3A, and the continuous pressure they felt, knowing any game could be their last of the 2024 season.
The girls have been able to stick together through playing their greatest game and putting forth impressive efforts even though ”A lot of teams struggle late in the season because it’s been a long year, but they seem completely energized if you watch them play. You can tell how much they enjoy playing together. So it’s just a great sense of pride with everything they’ve been able to accomplish,” said Ikenn.
Steve Ikenn, math teacher and Department Chair also plays a huge role in being the girls’ Varsity Basketball coach. He’s been coaching for 37 years, 35 of those years dedicated to girls’ basketball, and this is his 14th year coaching basketball at GCHS.
The varsity girls had immense amounts of support along the way from their fellow teammates and coaches. Coach Ikenn has created a physical sign that says “Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves”. This sign is to give the girls motivation and excitement before a game. Each girl smacks the inspirational sign on the way out to the court.
Every player works extremely hard, is dedicated to the competitive sport, and works
extremely well together as a whole team. “Us girls, us as a team, we’re really close-knit so we can sort of pick each other up along the way in a way that we know,” said Junior and team captain Annie Wolff.
Even if the team isn’t having the greatest game along the way they know how to work passionately together as a team to pick each other up and keep their heads in the game to play to their best. “We know we can make each other better,” said Varsity Sophomore Ava Henne.
They don’t give up, and surely don’t let each other fail or attempt to give up. The girls get plenty of support from their families on the sidelines, and they are an amazing support system from the sidelines and make a difference in the atmosphere. Although Central gives lots of recognition to the girls, “there’s always a little bit of a drop off from how the boys are represented,” said Wolff. Winning the conference was a huge accomplishment proving that the girls put in extra work and try their hardest in all aspects on and off the court.
“It feels good because all the work that you put in pays off,” said Henne. Overall, the girls had an astonishing season finishing with a 27-7 record, and 14-0 in conference.
Grayslake Central Varsity girls are an impressive team showing their strength and abilities to their fullest.