For the past three seasons, the Trinity High School varsity basketball team has reached an IHSA Class 3A sectional final, including twice as a top seed. But the Blazers have yet to reach the supersectional round after losing to Fenwick twice and last season to Montini.
This season, they feel may be the one that yields a breakthrough after all the near-misses.
“We’ve just got to push through and make sure we’re there for each other,” said Trinity senior guard Jaylani Hernandez, a Dominican University commit. “We need to fix the things we need to fix in order to get further than we did last year.”
Despite losing Lauren Miller, the program’s all-time leading scorer (1,812 career points) and rebounder (984), now playing for the University of Chicago, the combination of several quality returnees along with an infusion of new talent, including two key transfers, gives Trinity reason to believe the recent success can keep going.
“They’re hungry to get involved and get after it,” said Trinity coach Kim Coleman. “That’s what we’re hoping to do, get over that [sectional] hump.”
Trinity (20-14 last season) has six returning varsity players. Besides Hernandez, two seniors (forward Grace Treese and guard Ariana Rodriguez), two juniors (guard Zaria Goins and forward Chloe Santos), and sophomore guard Destiny Sacluti are back.
“Each year Zaria has improved in some capacity on both sides of the ball,” Coleman said of Goins, who made the All-Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Team and received Class 3A All-State Special Mention. “Chloe has skills that make her a versatile player inside and out. Jaylani has been in the gym a lot this offseason and can shoot the ball with range and guard with high intensity without fouling. Destiny plays hard every second she’s on the floor and is crafty with the ball.”
The Blazers look to get help from their top newcomers in freshman forward Keyera Gamble; junior guard Armante Dambrauskas, who transferred in from Lockport; and senior Sofia Flynn, an Illinois Wesleyan commit who transferred in from Lyons Township.
“Keyera is a basketball sponge and a hard worker. She’s lengthy [6-2] and makes our team bigger inside and out,” Coleman said. “Armante gives us size on the perimeter and adds a scoring threat from three-point range. Sofia is a fierce competitor who finishes well around the rim and makes our team tougher.”
To say the returning players are excited about the new talent is an understatement.
“It’s going really great,” Santos said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on, but I think this is going to be a really great team.”
“They’ve made it way easier on everyone,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve really adjusted well to Trinity basketball and how intense it is. I think they’re going to be really big assets.”
Coleman says Trinity won’t take any game for granted this season. Among the highlights on the Blazers’ schedule are the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington in late December; the Women Empowerment Games at Lane Tech, Jan. 18; and non-conference games against Marist, Oak Park and River Forest, and Thornton Fractional North late in the regular season.
Moreover, Trinity’s GCAC game with Fenwick will be played at Dominican University for the second consecutive year (Jan. 9), and the Blazers host the MLK Showcase on Jan. 20, which features schools coached by African Americans (Fenwick and OPRF will be there as well).
“We’re starting to add some heavy hitters, which is good because we want to become bigger each year,” Coleman said of the MLK.
While there likely will be ups and downs, Trinity wants to be playing at its best when the playoffs start. For Goins, the team’s goal is obvious.
“We want to go to state this year,” she said. “Hopefully it will happen. All we have to do is finish all the way through. I’m looking forward to having a successful season.”
Trinity’s opener came against visiting Nequa Valley, Nov. 19, after deadline. The Blazers play in the Elmhurst Classic, Nov. 23, at Timothy Christian with the opponent to be announced later.
