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Sports

Summer Camp: Back to Work for Marian Catholic Girls Basketball

The Spartans lost a number of standouts to graduation, but coach Annie Basic-Byrne already is implementing a three-stage plan to keep the beat going strong.

Top programs don’t rebuild they reload.

That is what the Marian Catholic girls’ basketball team will be doing this upcoming season.

“Depending on how well we accept that and come together will determine how quickly we can be a premier team again," Spartans coach Annie-Basic-Byrne said.

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Marian Catholic will look to overcome the loss of six seniors from last year’s team, including Maryssa Cladis (North Central), Jamie Johnson (Lewis), Simone Law (Loyola) and Jasmine Matthews (Bowling Green). All six will be playing in the collegiate ranks next season.

The Spartans have seen their seasons end with losses the last three years in the supersectionals to Chicago power Whitney Young, including last season’s 22-point setback.

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Still, the Spartans enjoyed another terrific year, winning 30 games and their first East Suburban Catholic Conference title.

“After we lost, I told the girls all the good things they did and tried to help them focus on the big picture,” Basic-Byrne said.

For Marian Catholic, the big picture includes a 277-55 record over a 10-year period with 10 straight regional titles, eight sectional titles and five trips downstate.

Returning Starters Teach Others the Spartan Way

Basic-Byrne will look for returning starters Alanna Ferry and Megan Walsh to help lead the Spartans as well as sophomore Brianna Morrison and possibly a couple of freshmen, too.

The Spartans are currently holding their summer camps for younger girls. There is a camp in the morning for girls in grades 4-6 and another one in the afternoon for girls in grades 7-9.

As often happens, success brings popularity and the Spartan camp has many girls from all over the area. “We have a nice broad range from about a 30-mile radius,” Basic-Byrne said.

There are girls from Indiana, Orland Park and Oak Lawn that have come all the way to experience the camp. “I attribute that to the girls and what they have done and want to continue to do,” Basic-Byrne said.

It doesn’t hurt that the Marian program considered one of the top programs in the state and thrives within in a community that whole-heartedly supports all things Spartan related.

“This school does everything the right way,” Basic-Byrne said.  “They sell and they market the school, and they believe in what they are doing and the product shows in the end. But it takes a lot of different people in a lot of different places. It is a collaborative effort. It is not just one person or one thing.”

Basic-Byrne feels a lot of parents buy into everything the Spartan program has to offer and not just all basketball.

“If a parent is serious about their kid being able to play basketball, we want to put their kid in a good environment and want to set them up at one of the best academic institutions in (the area)," she said. "Then, they are getting everything here, the whole package, and that is what we try to sell at Marian Catholic."

This month, the Spartans are competing in two leagues, one at Trinity High School on Mondays and Wednesdays and the other at Shepard High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Over the course of the next two weekends, some Spartan players will be participating in shootouts at Purdue and Valparaiso University.

“We will do anything we can to promote our kids on and off the court,” Basic-Byrne said.

She uses a three-step approach, starting in the summer and leading up to tryouts in November, to help determine what her roster will look like for the season. During evaluations, Basic-Byrne moves her girls in and out of different playing rotations and pushes them to develop into the players she wants them to be.

“We put pieces together a little bit more in the fall, which is stage two," she said. "Then, stage three is tryouts in November."

Notre Dame Standout Turner Returns

One of the signs of a great program is seeing former players return and help out. One former player who recently did just that was Kaila Turner, a sophomore guard at Notre Dame.

Turner came back to the school to visit the Spartan team shortly after helping the Fighting Irish finish second in the NCAA Women’s championships.

“It was amazing and quite an opportunity,” Basic-Byrne said.  “She came and shot around with the kids and sat down and talked to them about what it is like and what it takes to be successful.”

As the summer progress, Basic-Byrne has goals she hopes her team can reach.

“The main goal is to have fun but also to come together and work on the things we need to work on individually and as a team that will enable us to be better down the road.”

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