Charles Basaldua is using his previous coaching stops to his advantage in his first season as head coach of Kenosha Indian Trail girls basketball. Basaldua, who is a former assistant coach under Bob Letsch at Racine St. Cat’s takes over for Rob Van Dyke, who is now the coach of the boy’s program at the school.
“It has been an eye-opener, and there are a lot of things that you have to take care of that you don’t realize,” Basaldua said. “Overall, I have been enjoying the ride.”
After averaging 9.5 points per game in last season’s 8-4 finish, sophomore Arianna Gonzalez has stepped up as the team’s leading scorer as she is averaging 19.9 points per game this season. The sophomore has had two separate 30-point games this season including a career-high 35 against Wilmot earlier this season.
Senior Grace Peltier leads a group of eight seniors, as she has averaged eight points and eight rebounds per game this season. Fellow senior Macey Gandee averages eight points per game and six rebounds as well for Indian Trail.
“They have such great chemistry,” Basaldua said. “We’re having some early-season struggles, but we need to play as a team to be successful in the long run. We need to have girls step up and give us that spark.”
Basaldua expects his team to be in the upper part of the Southeast Conference this year along with state runner-up Franklin and Oak Creek. The Hawks held their own with Franklin earlier in the season in a five-point loss on the road and will open the post-holiday slate of games with Oak Creek on Tuesday.
“If we play Franklin as well as we did, and take those types of games, we can motivate ourselves for any game,” Basaldua said.
Indian Trail High School and Academy
Find out more about Indian Trail High School and Academy, including all of their athletics, on their website.
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