Girls basketball outlook /By Mary Jo Monnin
Sharks stand tall
With all the height Sacred Heart has, its 5- foot-2 coach, Sister Maria Pares, can easily get lost in the huddle. Sarah Healy (6-1) is playing with confidence after earning MVP honors in Saturday’s United Way Tipoff at Jamestown. Her sister, Christina Healy, is also 6-1 and Sarah Pawlak stands 5-11.
Sacred Heart couldn’t ask for a better start to the season, sitting at 5-0 with tournament wins in the Pastor-Cooper and at Jamestown. The hard-working Sharks have plenty of scorers, run the floor and play well together. Senior guard Natalie Coppola was an All-Catholic first-teamer last year. Senior Alycia Pontello was MVP of the Pastor-Cooper.
Defending Monsignor Martin champion Nichols returned a solid core with senior Kaitlin Donahoe, last year’s league MVP, senior Moriah Camp and sophomore forward Meaghan Heldwein. Sloane Walton is an outside threat.
Nardin returned three starters from last year’s team that reached the title game: three-year starter Laura Sciarrino and sisters Sarah and Erin O’Brien.
Holy Angels’ Kristen Hall is a good wing player and Katie Gibbons excels in the post.
All-Catholic first-teamer Melissa Graham of Mount Mercy is coming off an Achilles tear from soccer. She stepped on the court for the first time Nov. 29. She will see limited action until the league season starts. Teammate Katie Purcell is one of the league’s top point guards. Guard Shannon Dougherty, who started last year as a freshman for the Magic, has transferred to West Seneca West.
Sophomore Reann Stilwell poured in 19 points in a 43-42 win over Class AA Lancaster to help St. Mary’s move to 4-0. . . . Buffalo Seminary, under coach Amanda Corey, could improve to 6-0 with a win tonight over Christian Central.
Five teams to watch
Sacred Heart: Pares knew she’d had a good team this summer. She’s got the tall front-court and they can all run.
Williamsville North: First-year coach Clare Crowley, a former Buffalo State assistant, has inherited a talented squad led by Corrin Genovese.
Sherman: The Wildcats returned all five starters. Their 5-0 start includes a 53-27 hurt on defending Class D champ Ripley.
Jamestown: The Red Raiders, three-time Class AA champs, won’t give up the top spot easily.
CCAA I: This league has had at least one team win a sectional title in each of the past five years.
Five players to watch
Sadie Breen, Jamestown: Just a sophomore, she has shown dramatic improvement thanks to offseason workouts. She can post up and shoot the three.
Jenna Rickan, Kenmore West: Smooth, aggressive and strong. Her size (5-10) and athleticism made her a tough matchup.
Sarah Healy, Sacred Heart: Pares says the 6-1 Healy has such a long stride she can run the length of the court “in five steps.”
Liz DeWaters, Roy-Hart: Puts the power in power forward. Dedicated, strong athlete who’s a fixture in a local fitness center.
Samantha Kopp, Franklinville: Can the senior scoring machine lead the Panthers to the Class C title? She has signed a national letter of intent with Iona.
Games to watch
Monday: Orchard Park at Jamestown. The Quakers handed Jamestown its only league loss last year.
Jan 6: Sherman is at Clymer in a game that could be a preview of this year’s Section VI Class D final.
Jan 7: Sacred Heart hosts Nichols at Villa Maria College in a battle of the Catholic league’s top teams.
Feb. 20-21: The Lockport Kiwanis Tournament never disappoints. This year’s field for the 27th annual event includes Sacred Heart, defending champion Nichols, North Tonawanda and the host Lady Lions.
On the defensive
Defending poll champs: Pioneer (large), Nichols (small).
Defending Section VI champs: Jamestown (Class AA), Pioneer (Class A), Olean (Class B), Frewsburg (Class C), Ripley (Class D).
Monsignor Martin: Nichols. Canisius Cup: City Honors. ECIC: Jamestown (I), Sweet Home (II), Pioneer (III), East Aurora (IV).
Niagara Frontier League: Lockport, Kenmore East.
Niagara-Orleans: Wilson. CCIAC: Olean (I), Frewsburg (II), Sherman( III).
League beat
ECIC: One of only two seniors on Jamestown’s roster, point guard Erinne Cunningham will be asked to do a lot. She’s a two-time All-Western New York first-teamer. Senior Liketia McAffee and Nicole Green will need to have big years. . . . Orchard Park, off to a 5-0 start in ECIC I, boasts 6-2 junior Jamie Druding, three-point threat Taylor Swiatak and returning point guard junior Julia Smith. . . . Eighth-grader Hannah Rehbaum, daughter of Hilbert women’s coach Kara Rehbaum, is the starting point guard for Cleveland Hill. . . . Senior captain Emily Ludwig has led Lake Shore in rebounding the past three years and scoring the last two. . . . Ellie Allen returned for
her fifth year as a starter for defending ECIC II champion Sweet Home. Look for Allen to put up some big numbers this year. . . . ECIC II newcomer Starpoint welcomes back Andi Ridge, who sat out last year with a torn ACL. Sophomore point guard Ashley Wallace is athletic and explosive. . . . Jessica Krzemien is a four-year varsity player for Springville. . . . Perennial contender Williamsville East returned league All-Star Neha Bakhai, who led the Flames’ soccer team to the state final four. . . . Defending Class A champion Pioneer returned ECIC III All-Star Jenna Crabb.
NIAGARA-ORLEANS:Roy- Hart, Class B-2 finalists last year, returned four starters. What it lacks in size it makes up for with athleticism. Guard Amanda Walker is the league’s only returning first-team All-Star, senior forward Liz DeWaters is a two-time All-Western New York field hockey player and forward Ashley Scrinzi was all-league in volleyball. . . . Junior Jessica Curry returned for defending champion Wilson. . . . Albion’s go-to player is junior Casey Button.
CCAA: Defending Section VI Class B champion Olean returned just one starter, but it’s junior Rachel Bantelman, a 5-10 forward-guard who made last summer’s scholastic Empire State Games team. Seniors Alicia Stebbins and Rachel Kasperski moved into starting roles. Five juniors on the team played on last year’s 19-1 JV team. . . . Fredonia looks to do some damage with returning All- Stars Mary Kate Bongiovanni and Grace Moore. . . . Silver Creek returned Sami Williams (12.5 points per game) and assists and steals leader Alexa White. “We were 23 seconds away from playing for the sectional championship in Class C-2 last year and we hope to improve on that,” said coach Rich Norton. . . . Ashley Abrams and Katie Auge are coming off All-Star seasons for Salamanca.
Sherman (5-0) reached last year’s Section VI Class D finals with just eight players on its roster. This year the Wildcats have a whopping nine, including all seniors and all of last year’s starters. Rachel Ottaway, Michelle Persons, Bethany Gribble were all-league picks a year ago. Coach Mel Swanson described his team as focused.
Ripley was the only Section VI team to survive the Far West Regionals. It fell in the state semifinals to finish 13-9. It is back to defend its title with a three-guard offense with Kailyn Bentley, Heather Belson and Ashley Judd, and DeMaris Mason in the post.
Clymer (4-0) returned all five starters, including senior all-league pick Tara Bailey.
Pine Valley has been solid defensively with its up-tempo pressure defense, but it has been inconsistent in scoring. The roster has two seniors, six juniors and a sophomore.
CANISIUS CUP: Like a long rebound, the title can be anyone’s. Defending champion City Honors returned All-High sophomore Sarah Miller and senior Kat Curry. . . . Buffalo Arts senior guard Brittaniac Cooper is a good scorer. . . . South Park All-High forward Ashley Grimes returned for her senior year. . . . Bennett will be led by Ashley Barlow. . . . Hutch-Tech has decent depth. Stephanie Solomon is a former All-High shot put champion and and Pilar Nelson can dominate in spurts. . . . East junior Tiauna Young averaged 13 rebounds last year.
By the numbers
Samantha Kopp of Franklinville entered the season needing 615 points to break the area’s scoring record of 2,300 points currently held by her first cousin, Pioneer graduate Joelle Connelly (Hofstra). Kopp scored 684 last year in 22 games. . . . There are 92 schools in Section VI, including newcomers Western New York Maritime, MST Prep at Seneca and Oracle.
New coaches
Hall of Fame coach Larry Lash, who was hoping to coach one more year at Wilson, stepped down after 15 seasons that included five Niagara- Orleans titles. He had 297 combined wins coaching boys and girls. Lash was bumped by JV coach Brian Baker, a middle school art teacher in the district. Lash is currently enjoying his new challenge as modified girls coach at Tonawanda.
Other new coaches: Crowley (Will North), Kristy Bondgren ( Lancaster), Holly Betti ( West Seneca East), Jim Ferguson ( Depew), Chris Mathewson ( Springville), Matt Cook ( Alden), Steve Gathers ( Mount St. Mary), Matt Bradshaw ( Lew-Port), John Reinholtz ( North Tonawanda), Paula Lawson ( Buffalo Arts), Meaghan Pacer ( Burgard), Dave Thomas Jr. ( Emerson), Jim McCarthy ( Seneca), Chris Johnson ( Maple Grove), Tim Bergan ( Ellicottville).
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