Girls basketball: Lake Ridge on the road back to its winning ways

A 4-1 start isn't always a reason for celebration but at Lake Ridge Academy, where wins have been hard to come by in recent years, everyone is all smiles. With the juniors Lilly Shmois and Kathryn Krueger leading the offense and sophomore point guard Lena Foltin emerging as a leader on both ends of the court, the Royals are seeing their rebuilding process paying dividends. "Last year, the coaches said the goal was to build a program, and everyone really took that seriously," Foltin said. Alan George, who is also the school's athletic director, took over the girls program last year after previously coaching the boys team and things started to improve almost immediately. After only winning two games in the previous two seasons, the Royals went 6-10 in 2024-25, while also laying the groundwork for the success they're seeing this year. "When I took over the girls program, I knew I needed to rebuild and get the numbers back up," George said. "Last year, was all about learning. This year, we wanted to be able to come in and compete and show we belonged on the court with other teams we play." The Royals have already proven that with three wins against teams — Horizon Science Academy (Cleveland), St. Martin DePorres and Cornerstone Christian — they lost to a season ago. George describes Krueger and Shmois as the rocks for the foundation of the program, and they are showing it on and off the court. Shmois is averaging a double-double with 11 points and 13.8 rebounds. Krueger is averaging 10.4 points and is the Royals' leading 3-point shooter. "It means so much to me to see our team having success," Krueger said. "I know what it's like to be part of team that everybody saw as an easy win. Now we're more competitive and we're in a totally different position." Krueger didn't start playing basketball until eighth grade at the urging of younger sister Elizabeth, who is a freshman at Lake Ridge, but she quickly took to the sport. "When freshman year hit, I just fell in love with basketball. Even though the team wasn't so good, I was loving basketball so much," Kathryn Krueger said. "Coach George also helped me find my passion for it." On a team with just one four-year player, senior Zaya Battur, George credits Krueger and Shmois with changing the culture. "It's kinda crazy because it's so different than the past two years I've been on this team," said Shmois, the team's captain. "My freshman year, it was just the second year of getting the program started again and we only had six girls, so I played the whole game. It was rocky back then but now it's worth it." In the 2010's Lake Ridge had one of the top Division IV programs in the area, advancing to the regional finals in 2016, but COVID shuttered the program for two years. It's been a long, hard road for the Royals to get back to winning games. "It might take a little bit but I think this program can get back to where it used to be," Shmois said. "The coaches really turned it around and the girls are a lot more committed this year then we were freshman year. We've shown the more work you put in the more you're going to get out of it." Foltin is averaging 9.4 points a game and leading the team with 2.8 assists, but the number that really pops out is in the steals column, where she is averaging six steals for a Lake Ridge defense that is holding opponents to an average of 31.6 points. "I would say last year was definitely a rebuilding year," Foltin said. "It was exciting just to win any games last year. Now, we're able to win games by a lot, which is pretty cool." "I don't wanna brag but I would say I bring a lot of energy to the team. I really want to win and I know it's really important to keep our mentality up," Foltin said. "If I'm not having my best scoring game, I focus on getting assists or getting steals and helping my teammates have their best games. I treat it like I have no other choice. I have to show up for my team." The Royals are in the midst of a seven-game homestand that will feature games against Independence (4-2) and Westside Christian (3-1) after they close out the 2025 portion of the season Saturday against Brooklyn. George also credits his assistant coach Jack Galloway with playing a big role in the Royals' revival. "There was a lot of nights I was up late stressing about if I even made the right decision taking over the program," George said. "Jack has more coaching experience with the girls so I'm always asking his opinion, if I'm doing things or explaining things the right way. Jack makes my life easy." With four sophomores and four freshmen on the roster, Lake Ridge is hoping things will only get better in the future. "It's been a fun ride from where we started to where we are now. I'm definitely enjoying this, but I know we still have a lot of work to do," George said. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.