Lake Zurich junior Leah Gilbertson’s third varsity season is much different from her first two.
The youngest of four siblings to play basketball at the school, Gilbertson is the only one left on the team after her sister Anna graduated last year, and she has become a go-to player for the Bears.
“I think the biggest thing is the coaches expected more from me,” Gilbertson said. “I had to step into more of a leadership role and provide more communication. The big thing for me is getting more confident.”
Gilbertson, whose older sister Ella and older brother Andrew also played basketball at Lake Zurich, doesn’t have Anna on the team to push her anymore.
“I think it definitely took a few weeks going into the season to get used to not having Anna here,” Gilbertson said. “We’re very close, and it was definitely a change. But after a few practices, I was back to normal.
“She was very hard on me, always telling me what I can do better to be the best I can be.”
Having to push herself, Gilbertson has been getting better and better this season. The 6-foot-1 guard/forward has scored in double figures in five of her past six games, most recently putting up 22 points during Lake Zurich’s 53-51 win against Palatine on Saturday. She also scored 15 points against North Suburban Conference champion Libertyville during that stretch.
Gilbertson is averaging a team-best 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Bears (21-7, 10-3), who have won 16 of their past 18 games as they begin the final week of the regular season.
“We’re seeing her step out of her shell,” Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said.
Gilbertson, who is shooting 46% from the field and 76% from the free-throw line, is causing fits for opponents focused on slowing down senior forward Avery Cooper, a Creighton recruit, and senior guard Molly Friesen, a Washington University commit.
“I definitely think in the middle of the season, especially in the past few games, that Leah has really become a huge scoring threat for us,” Friesen said. “I think that playing without Anna this year has helped her really become confident in her scoring ability and establish her identity on the court.”
Friesen suggested Gilbertson has few limits as an offensive player.
“Leah does an amazing job of being a three-level scorer,” Friesen said. “She can hit tough jump shots and also establish herself on the boards to get a lot of layups.
“She’s done a really great job of making plays for us in crunch time.”
Cooper, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, also noted Gilbertson’s savviness.
“She’s very important for us offensively because she moves so well without the ball and is always making cuts toward the basket to create opportunities for herself,” Cooper said.
Gilbertson, who said she has a 4.95 GPA and plays the trombone in the school band, wanted to make the most of her opportunity this season.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer on parts of my game, and I just wanted to be able to do more and take advantage of mismatches on the inside and outside,” she said.
Gilbertson hopes the Bears, who will play conference rival Warren in the Class 4A Huntley Sectional semifinals on Feb. 18, take advantage of their opportunity too.
“We definitely have a lot of potential,” she said. “We have talent across the board and really strong players coming off the bench. If we can put it all together, we can go really far in the playoffs.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
