New faces finding new places on teams' rosters

December 08, 2010 Last Updated: December 08, 2010 02:07 PM High School

Butler sophomore Caitlin Baxter runs into a Chartiers Valley player during a game last season. Baxter will be the point guard on a new-look Golden Tornado team.

Time to start anew.

Numerous standout girls basketball players — Olivia Bresnahan, Casie Cygan, Karly and Kourtney Rhoads, Alex Guercio, Jenna McCorry among them — have graduated.

A fresh breed of athletes are ready to take their places.

Here is a look at Butler County area girls basketball this season:

Coach: Dorothea Epps, eighth yearLast Year: 16-6 (12-0)The cupboard isn't bare at Butler, but it's a bit depleted.The Golden Tornado graduated 95 percent of the scoring that produced a perfect section record a season ago, including all-state point guard Bresnahan, now playing at Florida State University.“No one on this team is going to average close to 20 points per game,” Epps said. “We need our top three or four players to average 10 to 12 points per game to be successful.”Sophomore Caitlin Baxter will be Butler's new point guard “and we need her to score more,” Epps said.Other returnees who saw varsity time last year are junior guard-forward Jasmine Bailey, senior forward Ali Houk and sophomore forward Mackenzie O'Donnell.Epps hopes to go eight-deep as senior forward Shelby Johnston, guard-forward Ali Sedwick, junior varsity point guard Samantha Marak and sophomore guard Natalie Barkus will see varsity minutes.“My biggest concern is we're not real deep this year,” Epps said. “We may have to grow up in a hurry.”

Coach: Sean O'Donnell, first yearLast Year: 7-13 (4-8)The Knights are taking on a whole new look this season.O'Donnell becomes the program's third head coach in as many years, taking over for Rob Greenleaf. He has only three seniors and not much varsity experience among them.“(Guard-Forward) Taylor Zonts and maybe Heather Cooper saw varsity time last year, but this is a green team and a green staff that will be growing together,” O'Donnell said.He said the 5-foot-11 Cooper “has been looking strong on the boards and we're going to need that.”Knoch's point guard will be either Kate Miller or sophomore Samantha Logan. Haley Williams, the team's third senior, and Junior Brooke Armahizer will be in the guard mix as well.Cooper, Zonts and Amber Hensel likely will man the forward spots.““We don't have a lot of numbers, but we have girls who are ready to go and are willing to work hard,” O'Donnell said.

Coach: Tony Howard, fourth seasonLast year: 13-11 overallAt some schools, making the playoffs is a goal.At Mars, it's expected.The Planets have been to the WPIAL playoffs for 14 straight years.Howard and his players don't plan to dissapoint their fans.Returning starters Alexa Lee (guard), Meghan Kelly (forward) and Kelsey Pelles (center), who are seniors, will have a say in whether that streak reaches 15 consecutive seasons.Lee, who once again will move between playing point and shooting guard, led the Planets with 13.5 points per game as a junior.“We're expecting good things from Alexa, but I think there are enough good players around her to take some of the pressure off of her,” said Howard, who is entering his fourth campaign with the team.The returning starters, along with seniors Carly Clark (guard) and Lizz Tumminello (guard-forward), have played together for six seasons and Howard said he believes that chemistry will be a benefit.Pelles was averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game before a leg injury sidelined her for the final weeks of last season.“She's looked really good in practice,” said Howard.Kelly paced the Planets in rebounds last year with an average of 6.1.“Other girls on the team play physical and hustle, but Meghan is always diving for loose balls and scrapping for every possession,” said Howard. “She makes us go.”

Coach: Rob Lombardo, second seasonLast year: 2-18 overallThe growing pains might not be over Seneca Valley, but Lombardo is expecting his squad to be more competitive.“We're expecting a better year,” said Lombardo. “(Section 3) is so tough, we will still have to pull off upsets. We won't be favored against anybody in our section.”Alex Karika returns after leading the team in points and rebounds with 9.6 and 9.4, respectively, per game.But Lombardo isn't expecting his team to win many battles on the glass.“We are undersized and that means we have to play smart and physical,” he said. “We have to get to more loose balls and force opponents into one-and-done possessions.”Much of the team's scoring responsibility will fall to senior shooting guard Alyssa Miller, who averaged 9.1 points last year and was the team's top shooter from the outside, draining 20 3-pointers.“There's no question that Alyssa is our go-to scorer entering the season,” said Lombardo. “She understands that role and has taken it on. The other girls respect her experience.”The rest of the starting lineup will consist of three more guards: senior Brianna Sieminski, junior Karlei Fronzaglio and sophomore Amanda Geiger, with Geiger playing the point.Lombardo expects to rotate nine to 10 players in most games.“With the players we will be sending to the floor, our strengths should be team defense and guard play,” said Lombardo.

Coach: Bill Burkart, fourth yearLast Year: 4-15The years of gaining experience are over. Now it's time to see what the Yellowjackets can do.“This is my fourth year, so the seniors came in when I did,” Burkart said. “We're looking for some consistency. Sometimes we look good and other times not so good.“I'm hoping with the senior leadership, they take it upon themselves to help the younger players,” Burkart added.Last year's team lost one senior after reaching the WPIAL playoffs in 2008-09 but dropped from nine wins to four.“Every year, we were trying to get some experience. We can't say that anymore,” Burkart said.The Yellowjackets will be led by starting guards Anna Christy and Jessica McFadden, and forwards Nicolette Blake, Taylor Schrecengost and Jessica Aulicino.Lynsey Gugino should get plenty of playing time while Burkart is looking for contributions from seniors Jennifer Hawk, Sam Angely and Hope Thompson, as well as junior Rachel Thomas.“Anna and Nicolette are four-year starters, Jess McFadden and Taylor are three-year starters, and Jess Aulicino is a two-year starter, and Lynsey played a lot last year,” said Burkart.“The experience should be there. We lost a lot of close games last year. We're hoping to turn that around.”

Coach: Mark Yeager, 10th yearLast Year: 14-10The big three are gone. A big season can still be had.Alex Guercio, Jenna McCorry and Kathleen Harding — key contributors to the Warriors' winning ways of 2009-10 — graduated. Sophomore point guard Ashley Brehm and junior guard Amanda Sloan are returning starters.“We lost our top three scorers and we need to adjust to a more balanced attack. But we can do that,” Yeager said.Junior forward Katie Brehm stands 6-feet-1. Other expected starters are 5-11 junior Krista Snyder and 5-8 sophomore Nikki Yeckel.The Warriors do not have a senior on their roster.“Amanda Sloan had foot surgery last spring and couldn't play all summer, but she's rounding into form now,” Yeager said. “The girls have worked hard all summer and we're athletic, but this league is strong.“Get around .500 and find a way to get into the playoffs. That's the goal we're starting with.”Sophomore forward Heather Porter likely will be the first player off the bench.The team has nine freshmen and sophomores .“We're young, but we're fundamentally solid,” Yeager said.

Coach: Adrienne Orris, fifth yearLast Year: 23-3This will be a season like few others.For three seasons, the starting lineup was the same. For three seasons, the first and second player off the bench were basically the same.But everything begins anew for the Rockets and Orris.“Around here, we're just not used to graduating players,” said Orris, who didn't have a senior class rotate out of her program since 2006-07. “This is a brand-new team.”Well, not entirely, but pretty close.Sophomore guard Morgan Siebka got significant minutes off the bench last season. Junior forward Bre Northcott also was a big part of the rotation the last two seasons, but it is unknown if Northcott will be able to play at all this season after suffering a knee injury in a spring pick-up game. That could be a huge hole for the Rockets to fill.But Orris is encouraged by the players she does have on the roster, players who practiced daily against the six top seniors who graduated from a team that reached the second round of the state playoffs last season: Ali Doyle, Sarah Cessar, Adele Campbell, Taylor Crocker and Karly and Kourtney Rhoads.“We have to remember they went up against those girls every day in practice,” Orris said. “They don't have the on-the-court, game experience, but they know the level they need to play at.”

Coach: Dave Kerschbaumer, sixth yearLast Year: 2-18Not again.That's been the rally cry of the Gremlins, who would rather not suffer through another two-win season that saw the team average 1.5 points per game.To turn those dubious numbers around, many on the 2010-11 roster spent the summer working to improve.“They are determined to get Karns City back where it needs to be,” Kerschbaumer said.It won't be easy. Senior forward Brooke Hiles is the top returning scorer at 6.0 points per game. But Kerschbaumer holds fast to the notion that this team will be much improved because the work put in during the offseason was much improved.“I can see it their eyes,” Kerschbaumer said. “Our expectations here at Karns City are always high. I see that out of this group. They want to get back to where we feel Karns City should be, and I didn't see that last year.”The Gremlins will play faster to try to force turnovers on defense that will translate into easier scoring opportunities at the other end of the floor.“We are going to be in attack mode,” Kerschbaumer said. “We want to make the other team feel uncomfortable.”

Coach: T.L. Eller, fifth yearLast Year: 11-11It's the nature of the beast: Players graduate.And the Eagles lost a doozy in Caitlin McNamara, who left the program with 1,320 points.What remains is largely unknown. There are no seniors for the fourth time in Eller's five years at the school.There is some size and some skill, but Eller is the first to admit she doesn't know how that will translate to the court.“I think the program is coming full circle here and this is the last year we will have to go through this,” Eller said. “This is definitely a rebuilding year.”Eller is encouraged by some of the younger players. Grove City also has shown a penchant for exceeding expectations.Not much was expected from last year's team, but the Eagles started hot and were in the playoff hunt until the final week.“Even though we have young kids, and they may struggle early, they have played for me and know what I expect,” Eller said. “We have a lot of talented young players. I just have no idea what I'm going to have out there this season.”Eller said the practices have been spirited, competitive and the best in her five years as the coach. There are some known quantities on the roster. Junior guard Danielle Johnson has continued to impress after putting in a solid sophomore season. Junior point guard Brogan Foster and junior Vanessa Sprando also return.“We have some tough kids who are willing to fight, Eller said. “We're hoping to see huge strides from the beginning of the season to the end of the season.”

Coach: Dave Sherman, first seasonLast year: 7-13 overallYoung but talented.That's how first-year Falcons coach Dave Sherman describes his team.The squad has just one senior: 5-feet-7 forward-guard Meghan Cratty, who averaged 8.8 points per game last season.Also returning is junior guard Tricia Kerlin, who put up 9.2 points and added 4.9 boards.Only nine players appear on the team's varsity roster.“I think we can compete with anybody in our league,” said Sherman. “It's just that we're not a deep team. The girls are playing a good man-to-man defense, though we may have to go zone against some teams.”Another player to watch is 5-11 sophomore forward Kelsey Boocks, who averaged 6.7 points and 7.3 rebounds.Boocks and fellow sophomore forward Meredith Snyder (5-10) provide the Falcons with height in the frontcourt.“We should be able to hold our own on the boards,” said Sherman. “I'm hoping for a .500 record and a spot in the playoffs. Anything more than that would be a bonus.”

Coach: Josh Meeker, ninth seasonLast year: 15-8The Damsels have only seven players entering the final week of the preseason.Still, Meeker sees a lot of quality in those seven.“I think the difference this year compared to last year is experience,” Meeker said. “We bring a lot of experience with Tina Lipps (12.4 points, 13.1 rebounds). This is her fourth year as a starter. Ashley MacKinlay (9.5 ppg, three assists, rebounds and steals per game) improved as a ballhandler and Mariah Winchester brought us outside shooting and defense.”The team's three seniors will have help from junior guards Daneka Stuart and Sierra Smith, and sophomore guards Delani Priester and Mackenzie Divins.“Sierra Smith has really improved from last year, She's the X factor and can improve a lot this year,” Meeker said. “She'll bring a spark to the team.”The lack of depth does concern Meeker, but he knows help will be on the way.“I think there are some girls who will step up. We're still deciding who will step up.“We brought up seven freshmen (from junior high last year). That's a big jump, from junior high to varsity, though,” Meeker added.Those freshmen will bide their time on the junior varsity team for the time being, but Meeker points to Lipps as an example of a freshman who made a difference right away.“We want to see if any of them can play varsity right now,” Meeker added.