After a season filled with ups and downs, the Joliet Junior College women’s basketball team is taking time to reflect on a year of perseverance, growth and difficult challenges. The Wolves navigated a season that tested the athletes’ 12-14, just missing the postseason.
For sophomore captain Demi Page, the season can be summed up in one word: adversity.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Page said. “I kind of call this season a roller coaster. We had our highs and we had our lows, but we always had to push through no matter the circumstance.”
Throughout the season, the Wolves often found themselves short-handed. Injuries and roster limitations forced the team to adjust on the fly.
One of the team’s most memorable moments came during a game against Kankakee Community College. With just six players available, the Wolves mounted a 25-point comeback.
“I’d say my favorite game was probably Kankakee,” Page said. “We only had like six or seven players, and then one of our guards went out. We were getting blown out in the first half, but at halftime we came out like a different team.”
The comeback win became a defining moment for the team, symbolizing its determination.
Head Coach Shaun Sanderson echoed Page’s sentiment when describing the season.
“It was challenging,” Sanderson said. “Only having one returning player in the lineup. You typically like to have a group of sophomores with experience to guide freshmen, and we didn’t have that this year.”
With a young roster made up largely of first-year players from different backgrounds and basketball systems, the team faced an uphill battle.
“We always want a challenge. We didn’t go as far as we wanted to go, but that’s how life is. You just get up the next day and strive to be better,” Sanderson said.
The season also revealed areas for growth, particularly in communication.
“I feel like making sure we’re all accountable as a team and learning each other’s personalities and backgrounds would help,” Page said. “We had people from different backgrounds, and sometimes that clashed.”
While Page hopes the younger players continue to build on those lessons, her time with the Wolves is coming to an end.
“As a sophomore, I won’t be here next year, but I’m still going to support my teammates,” Page said. “I think of my teammates as family, so I’ll always support them wherever I go.”
Sanderson said Page’s impact on the program will be difficult to replace.
“She’s played a phenomenal two years for us,” Sanderson said. “She’s played every single game, almost started every game, and done everything we’ve asked of her. She’s played every position on the floor and never had an excuse.”
As the program looks ahead, Sanderson believes several returning players will play key roles in shaping next season’s roster.
“We look for that group to be kind of the core of what’s coming back,” Sanderson said.
Beyond basketball, Sanderson said the program plans to emphasize personal development, particularly time management and accountability.
“Just understanding the importance of time and how to value it,” Sanderson said. “Once you do that on an individual level, it starts to carry over to everything else in your life.”
For Page, the future still holds many possibilities, but she appreciated her time at JJC.
“One thing about this school is they respected me,” Page said. “They valued me and showed me respect. They know my game and the value I bring to a team. I just felt really welcomed here.”
While the season may not have ended the way the Wolves hoped, both players and coaches believe the lessons learned this year will shape the program moving forward.
