Twin sisters Zoe and Olivia Trunk have been playing basketball together since second grade.
As sophomore guards for Sandburg, they are already in their second season of making a difference on the varsity. A lot of sisters team up in basketball on the high school level.
But twins? That’s rare.
So, what’s it like being teammates?
“If I miss a shot, she’ll be right there, picking me up,” said Zoe, a point guard. “It’s always so nice. Or if I have to keep my temper in check, I’ll just look to her, and she’ll be like, ‘All right, we got this.'”
For Olivia, a shooting guard, it’s all about chemistry. They worked that intangible to a T in Tuesday night’s 74-9 nonconference victory over Tinley Park in Orland Park.
“We work well together on the court,” she said. “We really support each other.”
The 5-foot-10 Olivia Trunk led all scorers with 16 points for Sandburg (3-2).
She started the game with a personal 7-0 run, leading off with a 3-pointer from the right corner, then shortly thereafter adding a layup off a steal from — that’s right — her sister.
That equated to a long night for the Titans (3-3), who were led in scoring by senior guard Lana Lomalie with five points, which included a 3-pointer in the third quarter.
While the Trunk sisters were the catalyst for Sandburg’s serious offensive production, all 11 players who entered the game scored. Senior forward Diana Jumah added 14 points. The 5-9 Zoe Trunk finished with four.
Sandburg coach Nick Fotopoulos confirmed the style of the Trunk twins is a mirror image of older sister Charlotte, a 2022 graduate who played four years for the Eagles and was a 1,000-point scorer.
“We’ve always kind of known they were going to be big pieces for us as we move forward,” Fotopoulos said. “We know that both twins have a lot of ability.
“Both of their games are different. Zoe can run the point for us and ‘Liv’ does a great job running the floor and knocking down shots. They are a dynamic duo.”
And how.
Their story started back when the girls were in the lower grades, playing for the Orland Youth Association and then in an AAU travel program. It’s not a stretch to say the pair know what each other is thinking, especially when bringing the ball up the court.
One doesn’t get the sense they defer team leadership to the upperclassmen, either. They both consider themselves leaders but are cognizant of the fact seniors like Juliana Paddock have a bunch to teach them.
“You have to take ownership for stuff,” Olivia said. “You can’t be quiet all the time. You have to pick your teammates up. You have to be the one to do it.”
Paddock, who contributed four points and four rebounds, said the twins are coming along.
“Last year, having them on varsity, it gave them a lot of really good experience,” Paddock said. “Me as a junior and the seniors, we helped ease them into the varsity game, and I think they did a great job of it.
“I love their intensity they play with.”
The Trunk sisters are young, of course, but as far as playing in college, they are both up for it, provided the right opportunity comes along.
But for now, they are enjoying themselves, and that will probably translate to tons of matchup problems for opponents this season.
“It’s all about learning and growing and being together and competing and working hard,” “Fotopoulos said. “And I think you saw that (Tuesday night).”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
