As Times-area girls basketball teams move toward the final stretch of the season, many coaches are encouraged by their teams’ progress and how some players have flourished.

Ottawa

Pirates coach Brent Moore’s team is 10-5 and finished in third place in the Ottawa Holiday Tournament before Christmas.

“Basketball is a long season, and I have learned to not overanalyze certain things or certain games,” Moore said. “We have had a lot of high moments and a few moments we wish we could get back as well. I would say I am happy with where our team is right now. This has been such a fun group of girls to coach. Coaches and players are working hard and having fun on a daily basis. With that in mind, I feel like there is still another level that we are capable of, and we will strive to get there come postseason time.

“Across the board, player-wise, I am happy with what we are turning into. I do not think we are at our apex yet, but we are not supposed to be either. Hopefully that comes during playoff basketball.”

Streator

Bulldogs coach Eric Gwaltney hopes to continue to see the improvements he’s seen from his young squad in the second half of the season.

“We started the season on a roller coaster, a couple of big injuries with (guards) Ava (Gwaltney) and Audrey (Arambula) really hurt us, even though they did play, they were not 100%,” Coach Gwaltney said. “We have had some games where we handled the pressure better, played as a team and got a couple of victories. This is a relatively young team that is still evolving and learning as a team. Each game, I think we are seeing more and more improvements and effort, which is all I can ask for.

“Ava has stepped up, being injured and still trying to be out on the court as a leader. I also think the whole team has stepped up more this year as they all continue to grow and work together as a team.”

Marquette

Marquette coach Eric Price said he feels his team has valued the basketball better and has started to put four solid quarters together in recent games.

“One of the issues early on was turning it over too much, and we have cut the turnovers in half the past few games,” Price said. “Our rebounding has also improved, and we are getting more tie-ups, leading to a couple more possessions per game with the ball in our hands.

“Individually, we knew [shooting guard] Kaitlyn Davis would put it in the basket, and she’s around 20 points per game, but our post player rotation has been playing much better, and we’re getting quality minutes from multiple girls under the hoop. Senya Mitre has provided a spark lately in some critical moments of games, and [point guard] Hunter Hopkins, back from injury, has helped settle the offense.”

Seneca

Fighting Irish coach Josh Myers said he hopes to see his team find ways to hold on to late leads.

“We have to finish out games,” Myers said. “We have had the lead in the fourth quarter of six of our 10 losses. Our younger girls are getting better, and now we will be adding Emma Mino back next week, which will help out. Graysen Provance has done a great job of scoring and being a leader. We are getting better and are ready to finish out the season strong.”

Serena

The Huskers currently are 8-8, but coach Jim Jobst feels a jump in consistency will be a big key to a strong second half.

“We have been in almost every game,” Jobst said. “We have just been inconsistent, will play a great game and then struggle in others. I think having some time off after Christmas to practice has been good and hopefully helps us get ready moving forward to the second half of the season. We have been in this spot in other seasons and have had a great second half, and I believe this team is capable of that. All of our players have stepped up big for us at different times. We just need to have them all step up at the same time, and if we do we will be hard to beat.”

Somonauk/Leland

Bobcats coach Jason Zaleski said while his very young squad hasn’t reached its full potential, he feels the team is headed in the right direction.

“We continue to make progress in practices and games, but we still have room for improvement,” Zaleski said, his team currently 8-8 and winners of three of its last four. “Team defense has been a consistent strength for us, but we are working towards improving our offensive flow. Players are putting in the work, but now we need to start believing in ourselves.

Zaleski had holiday tournament praise for sophomore Ashley McCoy (10.3 ppg), as well as freshmen Alexa Larson (5 ppg, 60% shooting on 3s), Ella Roberts (10.7, 4.3 rpg) and MacKenna McMahan (5.7 rpg)

Fieldcrest

Knights coach Jacob Durdan hopes his team can step up on defense while maintaining the strong first half it has had on the offensive end.

“We sit at 8-9 overall, and we’ve beat some good teams, and we’ve lost to some good teams,” Durdan said. “I think about half of our losses come against teams that we should beat. We have half of our schedule left to play and to turn those ‘should’ve won games’ into wins. The big key will be we must play better defense. I told the girls early on, when we win it’s because of them, when we lose there’s more I could’ve done as a coach. So I will be doing better at preparing them defensively.

“I think it goes without saying, but I knew that Macy (Gochanour), Terilynn (Timmerman) and Pru (Mangan) would be our top three, and they’ve all shined. Morgan Harlan and Ava Gott have stepped up recently and are much improved from the beginning of the season. To be completely honest, across the entire roster we’ve had tremendous growth from everyone, and it feels that everyone has bought into what we’re doing.”