Jessi Calizo hopes to lock down opposing teams this winter as LCA develops its identity for the 2019-20 season. (File photo by Mike Deak)

WINONA LAKE – Lakeland Christian Academy isn’t in rebuild mode, but some question marks are firmly planted on the program entering the 2019-20 season.

LCA saw five of its seniors graduate from a team that went 13-10 a season ago that included a championship at its own LCA Classic in December. The Cougars didn’t lose any generational talent, but did lose a lot of jack-of-all-trades type like Anna Reimink (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2.6 assists, 1 block per game), Maddie Paris (6 rebounds, 2 points per), Abigail Fishel (4 points, 3 rebounds per) as well as Carly O’Hara and Lauren Starrett, which both played in over 20 varsity games.

“Anna left big shoes to fill,” said LCA head coach Allison Kauffman, entering her fifth season. “We are looking to Jessi Calizo to fill that point guard position offensively, which is not an unfamiliar role for her. Anna brought a lot of energy defensively, and we are focusing on bringing that same defensive energy this year as a team.”

Kauffman views her roster to take on more roles like Reimink provided on the daily. Both Jessi Calizo, a sophomore, and sister Tori Calizo, a senior, filled the stat sheets last season. Tori led the team with 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and added over two steals a night, Jessi adding 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.

From there, however, LCA is very thin in returning experience. Junior Jordan Gross played in 14 games but accumulated just seven points and 12 rebounds in those games, and senior Natalie Buller played in 10 games and scored just seven points. The rest of the incoming roster are all sophomores or freshmen.

“We are very young this year with only five returning players from last year,” Kauffman said. “Tori Calizo has done a great job of leading not only vocally, but she sets a great example of work ethic and attitude that the team will follow. We have set the expectations high for this year and are looking forward to seeing what this group of girls can accomplish together.”

Natalie Norris and Grace Hanes make up the sophomore class with Jessi Calizo, and six freshmen will don the varsity jerseys. Chloe Aites, Finley Hobbs, Alexis Miller, Liv Miller, Cara McCrum and Mya Wobrock all will get their trials by fire this winter.

“Most of our players are multi-sport athletes, which is very beneficial,” said Kauffman. “There are a lot of aspects not only physically that transfer between sports. Our focus this year is on those “little things” that will push us to that next level; the things that we can control no matter what the situation.

LCA opens up at Saturday against Whitko.

“We will need to take our time and focus on executing our offense,” added Kauffman. “We have been pushing our girls on taking their open shots and reading the defense. We are looking to become more consistent on the offensive end this year by keeping our turnovers down and taking our shots confidently.