AT A GLANCE
Conference Metro Suburban
Home Court 160 Ridgewood Road, Riverside
2008-09 record 26-3
Coach Larry Rocco (8th year)
Top returners
Shaquita Slater sr. F
Jessie Hutchens sr. G
Emily Chapman sr. F
Promising newcomers
Meghan Orgler so. F
Kiley Rusin so. G
KEY MATCHES
Dec. 26-30 at Morton College Christmas Tournament The Bulldogs won the tournament last year and look to go back-to-back
Jan. 29 at Timothy Christian Second matchup of the season with the Trojans, who snapped RB’s record-setting win streak last season
By Marc Zarefsky
mzarefsky@mysuburbanlife.com
Riverside Brookfield is coming off one of the best years in school history, a season that featured a school-record 17-game winning streak to start the season and ended with a 73-51 loss to St. Joseph in the regional finals.
“Overall we just had a great season,” RB coach Larry Rocco said. “We really didn’t have a superstar on the team, really just great team effort night in and night out.”
Rocco has high expectations for his team again this season, but he knows it will take some time for the Bulldogs to find their chemistry since the team lost four of its five starters from last year.
“We’re very young, we’re very inexperienced, so it’s going to take us time to put it all together,” Rocco said. “By the end of the year we think we’re going to be a pretty good basketball team.”
The Bulldogs will look to seniors Jessie Hutchens — the only returning starter from last year — Shaquita Slater and Emily Chapman to be leaders on the floor and off this season. All three are three-year members of the varsity team, and the team is expecting big things out of each of them this season.
“Those three have a great dedication to the game and are great competitors,” Rocco said. “I think that will run over to our younger kids.”
Senior Anna Tess will be RB’s other starting guard, while junior Kelsey Egger will get the nod at center.
The Bulldogs are excited about their chances in the Metro Suburban Conference, and their coach is also excited about having one of his former players join his coaching staff. Meghan Hutchens, who played three years for Rocco before going on to the University of Illinois-Chicago, is now bringing her experience back to her alma mater.
“I think our kids are going to see a work ethic in her from playing at the collegiate level,” Rocco said. “She was a very knowledgeable player when she was in high school, but her knowledge is even better now. She’s going to be a good coach, a real good coach.”
