West Ottawa girls basketball returns five starters: 'We have been waiting for this'
PARK TWP. - An unprecedented season has begun for the West Ottawa girls basketball team.
One year after winning 16 games, the Panthers return all five starters, hungry to keep the program moving forward.
"We know we have the potential to be good, but we definitely can't be thinking we have anything in the bag," West Ottawa senior Brooke Pedersen said. "We know how good the competition is, and that is how we are going to play the best that we can.
"A lot of us have been on the same team since Little Panthers. We have been waiting for this."
Gabby Reynolds is the leader. A two-time all-state guard, the senior has signed to play at George Washington next year.
More: Next goal for Gabby Reynolds after signing with George Washington: 'Miss Basketball'
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Her partner in the backcourt is senior Chelsea Overbeek - the ignitor. There might not be another combo of guards in the state as talented as Overbeek and Reynolds.
In the post, junior Magaly Lemus. Last year, she led the OK Red in rebounding and is even stronger this year.
"We know everyone is going to be gunning for Gabby. But we all understand our roles and can step up when we need to," Overbeek said.
Joining her in the post is senior forward Brooke Pedersen, perhaps the most athletic player on the team. She uses that athleticism to get offensive rebounds and defend. Any offense she can give is a bonus.
But between Lemus and Pedersen, they should average more than 20 rebounds combined.
That leaves junior guard/forward Addy Scholten. She didn't start at the beginning of last season, but by the postseason was a key distributor and defender for the Panthers, especially in their full-court press.
Having all five returning means they can hit the ground running this year and perfect things rather than learn things brand new - especially defensively.
"We have way more defenses than other teams have, so we have the flexibility to change our defenses throughout the game," Pedersen said. "We work really hard in practice to perfect those. That gives us the upper hand on defense."
That will allow the Panthers to run - and on transition, they can run right past most teams.
"We work very well together defensively," Overbeek said. "We can trust each other enough and know when to help."
It all adds up to what could be an incredibly special season for the Panthers.
"Our chemistry is going to be huge, especially once we get into scrappy teams gunning for one. We all trust Gabby, but she trusts us, too," Overbeek said. "We talk about this year being our best as seniors. We have been looking forward to this."
Season opener
PARK TWP. - The West Ottawa girls basketball team won its season opener 49-22 over Mona Shores on Tuesday.
Gabby Reynolds got in early foul trouble and missed most of the first quarter, but came back in the final minute to hit a 3-pointer and the Panthers led 7-4 and the momentum never left.
Reynolds scored in a variety of ways, then Chelsea Overbeek hit three consecutive 3s to push the Panthers lead to 39-19.
Reynolds finished with 25. Overbeek scored 17. Magaly Lemus grabbed 10 rebounds and Brooke Pedersen had six.
"We played pretty well in the second half and moved the ball. We got it in to Mags and Chelsea got it going from 3 and Gabby ran things," West Ottawa coach Paul Chapman said. "Defensively, we were pretty darn good."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa girls basketball returns five starters: 'We have been waiting for this'
