It’s been five years since the Streator girls basketball program posted a winning record and 30 years since the Bulldogs have gone .500 over the course of a full, non-pandemic-shortened season.

First-year head coach Eric Gwaltney would, of course, love to end those droughts. More immediately, however, the former assistant coach and his Bulldogs are focusing on being more competitive on a game-to-game, quarter-to-quarter, play-to-play basis as the start of the season nears.

“I want the girls to go out and play 100% every game, know they’ve put everything they have in every game, have other coaches see the difference in the way we play, and just get better every game,” Gwaltney said of his goals for the upcoming season. “If we can win 10-plus, that’d be a night-and-day difference from last year, but just be competitive.

“These girls are a great group of girls ... and now they’re just trying to put it all together.”

Streator will carry a nine-player varsity roster to open the season, with a handful of underclassmen from the JV team expected to be given opportunities to move up throughout the winter. A large number of freshmen is an encouraging sign for the program’s future.

Of the nine opening-day varsity players this year, three – seniors Ava Gwaltney and Isabel Gutierrez as well as junior Audrey Arambula – are expected to be leaders from Day 1.

Ava Gwaltney was the undisputed leader of last season’s 2-30 Bulldogs team, averaging 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per contest on her way to earning Times All-Area third-team honors.

“I expect her, just like last year, to step up as the leader on the court,” Coach Gwaltney said of his daughter. “And I expect even more out of her this year. She’s really put in the time this offseason. She did last [offseason] too, but even more this year.”

Gutierrez and Arambula, both also guards and team captains, will be expected to step into larger, leadership roles.

“I expect quite a bit out of [Gutierrez], six to eight points a game, maybe more if she can,” Coach Gwaltney said. “Her confidence has grown over the course of the summer, and she’s put in the work ... and I think she’s going to step up this year and be a true leader for us.

“Audrey is a soccer player, and she’s going to put in the hustle, all the work ethic you can have. Soccer players are great to have, because they’re physical, not afraid to get in there. [After an injury last season], she’s 100% so far, and I expect her to be that third leader out there. I have all the confidence in the world in her.”

Along with the rest of the varsity roster – junior forwards Lahla Thompson, Adelaide Mahan and Isabelle Mahan; junior guard Isabella Robart; and sophomore posts Alexis Thomas and Rhea Huey – Gutierrez and Arambula will also be asked to produce on the court to hopefully take some of the pressure and defensive focus off last year’s leading scorer.

“We’re trying to take weight off Ava’s shoulders,” Coach Gwaltney said. “I’m trying to make everyone see they need to step up out there and take control and have the confidence to play the game, which I know they can.”

Streator is scheduled to open the 2025-26 season in the Falcon-Irish Thanksgiving Tournament’s Seneca Pool, facing three Class 1A/2A programs (Serena, Marquette and the host Fighting Irish) that each topped 20 wins last winter. The Bulldogs will have their Pops Dale Gymnasium home opener on Nov. 24 against Morris.