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Last season was a mixed bag for the high school girls’ basketball teams of the Hudson Valley. And now, as the calendar turns to December, optimism once again abounds as the five teams in our coverage area are gearing up for another exciting campaign. Here’s a look at what to expect.
Arlington
The Admirals are coming off a 10-11 campaign and graduated seven seniors from last year’s team. But second-year head coach Rob Horst thinks his 2007-2008 team has a lot of upside.
“We’re more athletic and we’re taller than last year,” said Horst. “We lack experience but as far as the potential of the talent, I think we’re ahead of last year. We should definitely improve as the year goes on.”
Horst sees this year’s squad as a versatile and quick team that will be able to run up and down the floor.
“We’re going to look to push the ball,” he said. “We’re certainly not a half-court team. The goal is to go out and get as many easy baskets as we can and turn it into a transition game. We’ll mix it up on defense, play zone, man-to-man, some trapping.”
Horst said that last year’s difficult schedule contributed to the Admirals’ mediocre record.
“We played six of the seven top seeds in Section 1 before Jan.1 last year,” he said. “The schedule is easier this year so we’re hoping to get some wins and gain some confidence.”
Leading the charge for the Admirals will be junior guards Jasmine Martinez and Ariana Decker, senior forward/center Caitlyn Schell, junior center Emmie Dolfi and senior guard Chelsea Cartica. Senior guard Caitlyn Steinberg, the only starter to return from last year’s team, suffered a knee injury and is likely out for the season.
“We’d love to win the league,” said Horst. “We haven’t done it in a while. We’ve got a team that potentially can compete. It all depends on how we mature throughout the year. I don’t know what to expect until we start playing.”
Arlington opens its season on Dec. 12 at Roosevelt-Yonkers.
FDR
Head coach Bob Mayerhofer has seen a lot of basketball during his 12 years as coach of the female Presidents. But on the heels of last season’s 14-6 record – in which his squad lost in the first round of sectionals – Mayerhofer faces a new challenge after graduating 40 of the 52 points per game his team averaged in 2006-2007.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” said Mayerhofer. “We’re only returning two players. I told the girls that they have to look at this as an opportunity. In 12 years, these are the most question marks we’ve had as to how we’re going to turn out. There are a lot of unknowns.”
Mayerhofer does have the luxury of bringing back two excellent players in junior Colleen Mayerhofer (the coach’s daughter) and senior Sam Tamney, the sixth “man” on last year’s squad.
“Last year, (Colleen) played shooting guard, but she’s 5’10, so she’s best suited for the small forward,” he said. “She’ll have more versatility this year. And Sam is the best shooter on the team. We’ll rely on her more heavily this year.”
Other players to watch out for are senior center Kelly Osterman, junior power forward Laura Russell and sophomore point guard Sara Courtney, who is moving up from the JV team.
“We’re still developing our identity,” said Mayerhofer, who points toward rivalry contests with Marlboro and Red Hook before Christmas as barometer games for his team. “As a coach, I build my system around my athletes. We ran a lot in previous years. That’s not as much of an option now. There are three keys for us: handling pressure, defense and taking care of the ball.”
Mayerhofer is taking a cautious approach to his expectations for the upcoming season.
“It has to be about improving week-to-week,” he said. “The 14-6 record wasn’t the record of these girls. A lot of them are in it for the first time. They just have to get better in each game and practice.”
The Presidents’ first game is Dec. 5 at Goshen.
Ketcham
Fifth-year coach Kristie Meyer expects her team to improve on last year’s 6-14 record and is relying on an experienced group of girls.
“We only lost one senior and we have a lot of key returners who really improved in the offseason,” said Meyer. “I think the team will improve. And our record will improve because our crossover opponents are easier this year. I’ve coached everyone on the team before and we’re progressing quickly in practice.”
Meyer said her team will play an up-tempo style, led by sophomore point guard Briana James.
“We’ve been focusing on defense in practice,” she said. “With Briana at the point, we should be able to get-up-and-go. We’ll be small but fast. I want to be a running team.”
Ketcham, which won’t face its biggest rival – John Jay – until after Christmas, opens its season on Dec. 3 at home versus Clarkstown South.
“I really want to hold the girls accountable,” said Meyer. “They need to give it everything they can and good things will happen. We’ll get what we deserve.”
Other players who will contribute for Ketcham this season include junior three-point specialist Donna Wong, junior guards Amanda Gallaher and Talia Cuccia and junior forward Emily Rokitowski.
Poughkeepsie
T.J. Mullins is in his first year as varsity coach of the Pioneers. But after spending last season as an assistant at Beacon, he thinks he’s up to the task of improving the Poughkeepsie squad.
“This year could go either way,” he said. “We’re relatively young but we could surprise some teams. We’re not really focusing on wins too much. I want to set an example, to rebuild the program. We had no JV team last year and we will this year. I want to build a nice foundation.”
The Pioneers may have struggled last year but were able to sweep Ossining, which tied for the league championship with Beacon. Mullins is looking forward to games at Ossining on Jan. 4 and at home against Beacon on Jan. 9 as interesting matchups for his developing team.
“We’re not a very tall team, but we’ll play hard-nosed defense and try to force teams to feel uncomfortable,” he said. “We want to run-and-gun. I’m anxious to see what happens and I’m still trying to get a feel for what the girls can and can’t do.”
Mullins said his team will be led by junior guard Tanayzha Augustine, senior guard Ja’Taeilah Forde and freshman point guard Jovanna Tolbert-Snead.
“I’m looking forward to my first season,” said Mullins. “I’ve coached JV and AAU and played in college at Keane State. So I think I’m up for the challenge.”
The Presidents open up their schedule today at Peekskill.
Spackenkill
Despite coming off a 5-15 campaign, Spartans coach Don Neise is confident that his squad will improve in the 2007-2008 campaign.
“We’ve got a good nucleus of players,” he said. “We have a lot of kids now whose main sport is basketball and we haven’t had that in a while. It’s a young team but they have a lot of basketball experience. I’m looking forward to seeing how they mature as the season goes on.”
Despite his optimism, Neise doesn’t yet know what his team will look like when they take the court for real.
“I usually try to concentrate on defense,” he said. “This is not a huge transition group, but we have a lot of depth.”
That depth includes senior forward captains Megan Pomarico and Emily Maier as well as junior forward Lexy Pickett and sophomore guard Mackenzie Hoffman.
“I want to make sure we’re prepared.” said Neise. “We set individual goals for the players but as a team we just want to be competitive in our league. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
The Spartans open up on Dec. 7 against Webetuck, but won’t play a division game until after the holidays.
“Highland and Pine Plains are our main rivals,” he said. “That will be some good competition to see where we’re at.”
Neise is focused on developing a team-first atmosphere as he tries to get his young squad to gel.
“We’ll focus on defense first and then let everything else take care of itself,” he said. “We’ll see what happens as the year goes on.”
