St. Charles North sophomore Lelanie Posada was pumped up when she found out she had won the starting point guard job.
“It was really exciting because I knew I was going to play with a bunch of people that really love basketball,” Posada said. “It’s been really fun because we all work together.
“None of it would work if we didn’t all work together in the first place.”
The North Stars graduated all of their most experienced players from a 27-win team. Yet they haven’t missed a beat, in part because of the job the 5-foot-6 Posada has done running the show.
“Coming into a varsity program and taking over the lead point guard position is a difficult thing to do,” St. Charles North coach Mike Tomczak said. “We’re a competitive team, we play a competitive schedule and to put that on her shoulders is asking a lot.
“But we felt over the summer that she was ready for it.”
Posada has proven Tomczak right. She’s averaging nearly 10 points a game and brings grit and hustle to the host North Stars, who routed Bartlett 64-13 on Wednesday to improve to 17-3.
Posada finished with eight points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists against the visiting Hawks (4-18), who committed 39 turnovers against St. Charles North’s withering press and didn’t record a basket until the 5:44 mark of the third quarter.
Posada did all of her scoring in the first quarter. She sank two 3-pointers during an opening 17-0 run, which she capped with a short baseline jumper off a pass from Riley Barber.
St. Charles North guard Hannah Ganser, the team captain and only senior on the roster, is thrilled but not surprised with Posada’s performance.
“She’s stepping up so much this year,” Ganser said. “She played a little bit last year, but we knew over the summer she was going to be one of our biggest offensive threats, the almost only person that can handle the ball.
“She really stepped up, and it means a lot to all of us.”
While ballhandling and shooting are plus skills for Posada, other areas of her game are improving, especially her defense.
“It’s definitely all right,” Posada said. “I wouldn’t say it was one of my better strengths. It normally hasn’t been.”
Tomczak, though, has noticed a difference lately.
“What she’s been able to do over the past couple weeks specifically is increase that level of physicality,” Tomczak said. “She plays much bigger than she’s listed.
“Oftentimes, she’s going to be the one that’s boxing out on that back side against a player who is always bigger than her. Over Christmas, she really committed herself. And she’s never been shy about getting on the floor.”
One example of that came in the third quarter. With the North Stars leading 47-9, Posada dove on the floor against three Hawks and managed to get a jump ball.
The North Stars kept possession and Keira Connolly sank a 3-pointer to trigger a 14-0 run.
“It just proves how much she cares for her teammates and her team,” Ganser said. “She’s always playing her hardest for the best of the team.”
The North Stars also played well as a team against Bartlett.
Junior forward Sydney Johnson scored a game-high 16 points, while Ganser chipped in with eight points, eight steals and six assists and 6-2 sophomore forward Bronwyn How added 12 points and five rebounds.
And on top of that, they all play pressure defense.
“On defense, we’re always talking,” Posada said. “We had energy from the starters and the bench. We had a bunch of fans that were loud, too.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.