Stagg’s drought against the Lincoln-Ways is over, and junior guard Abbey Hobart is a big reason why.
The Chargers earned back-to-back wins against Central (48-46) on Dec. 3 and East (40-34) on Dec. 5.
“I have never beaten Lincoln Way East or Lincoln Way Central. So to beat them was a rush,” Hobart said. “They are the biggest teams we want to beat because they are always really solid.”
“Lincoln-Way East is a solid contender,” said Allee Hernandez, who is in her first season as Stagg’s head coach after a stint as an assistant. “They have been on our radar since last year. …
“We said we had to go out there and go get it and show them that we can compete, and compete at a very high level.”
Coming off of 30 points against Shepard on Dec. 2 and another 24 against Central a day later, Hobart scored 18 in a win against the Griffins, including two 3-pointers. The shots behind the arc have become less common for her.
“I definitely used to shoot 3s a lot more,” Hobart said. “But over the summer, I developed my driving skills a lot more.”
She credits her new-found playing style around the basket to her dad. Instead of driving a car into the driveway, she worked on driving herself through imaginary lanes as she worked toward the basket.
“We have some differences but he’s my mentor. I love him,” Hobart said. “I’m not perfect but my dad taught me how to play basketball. I trust him.”
Now Hobart is scoring on all levels.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with the ball,” she said. “My confidence has gone up. I know I have to be one of the leading scorers on this team and I worked hard to be able to do that.”
Hernadez has a roster of three seniors, seven juniors, and two sophomores after some key departures in the offseason. Hobart has picked up the slack.
“I was curious to see how she would rise and fill those shoes knowing there is an absence but she’s really stepped up and risen to the challenge,” Hernandez said. “That kid is in the gym all the time and she worked really hard busting her butt this offseason and it is showing.”
“I try to be a leader,” Hobart said. “Being able to tell how I reacted to my leaders in the past and try to be a leader for my younger teammates — I understand how (it’s like) to be younger on the team.”
Hobart is a basketball fan as well as a player. Her favorite team is UConn.
“I love (UConn’s) Paige Bueckers. And I love (USC’s) JuJu Watkins — her game is so good. I enjoy just watching them play. I don’t think I will go that far.”
Hobart aims to play at the next level as well.
“I really want to play in college,” she said. “It is what I am working for. I really hope to play (NCAA) D3 or D2 in the future.”
The post Abbey Hobart leads Stagg to milestone wins appeared first on Southwest Regional Publishing.