Prep teams ready to tip off
Nine of the 11 Butler County-area high school girls basketball teams finished last season with a record of .500 or better.
The field was led by North Catholic (18-3), Slippery Rock (15-4), Knoch (10-2) and Freeport (10-3), which will all look for similar, if not better, efforts this year.
Following is a look at area high school girls teams entering the 2021-22 season.
Coach: Mike MealsLast year: 8-11Meals takes over as head coach after spending the last seven years as either a JV coach or junior high coach at the school.“I've worked with most of these girls for several years in different sports,” Meals said. “I have a personal relationship with most of them. I'm excited to see them through the year.”Senior Baylee Blauser is the team's lone returning starter. She averaged 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.“Baylee is one of the better athletes in the league,” Meals said. “She's versatile. She can play any position for us.”Combined among this year's four other starters are eight total points. The Falcons, Meals said, lost 84% of its scoring and 85% of its rebounding from 2020.“We're pretty raw this year,” Meals said. “We don't have much experience at the varsity level.”The team will rely on junior Keira McVay to handle the ball and operate from the point. Meals expects Mackenzie Parks, another junior, to be the team's rebounding leader. Sophomores Grace Barlett and Sophia McGarvey round out the starting lineup.“Hopefully after we get some games under our belt and they get used to playing at this level, we'll see them grow through the year,” Meals said. “We're starting pretty thin.”
Coach: Mark MaierLast year: 10-9Last year, the Golden Tornado reached the district playoffs for the first time in three years and won a postseason game for the first time in 11 seasons.Maier is optimistic that the current squad can continue the upward trend.“We have a good core group,” Maier said. “Aubree (Tack), Makenna (Maier) and Maisy (Gibson) played AAU together over the summer and that just adds to their experience.”Tack returns as the starting point guard, while Maier and Gibson will also be featured in the backcourt again as returning starters.Maier scored 12 points per game as a junior while draining 34 treys and shooting 83 percent from the free throw line.With the graduation loss of forward Alison Altman, Butler will change up part of its strategy.“We'll be getting the ball inside more with layups on drives and not post-ups,” Mark Maier said. “Makenna, Justine Forbes, Hannah Aldridge and Ava Selfridge, they can all hit (treys). It's the big equalizer, if you can stretch a defense.”Sophomore swing player Jessica Chwalik should help on the boards and senior Macklin Hanley will provide depth after missing last year with a knee injury.
Coach: Fred SoilisLast year: 10-3Some teams look to a large senior class for leadership. Freeport doesn't have that luxury this season, but the Yellowjackets will certainly have a lead to follow.Melaina DeZort and Ava Soilis, a pair of junior guards, combined for over 25 points and 12 rebounds per game last season.“Ava will handle the majority of responsibility at point guard and we're looking for a good year out of her,” Fred Soilis said. “Melaina missed the whole summer with a knee injury, but has been cleared to play. She does a lot between her defense, taking charges and rebounding.”Forward Leah Hartman, the team's lone senior, and sophomore guard Morgan Croney both look to be major contributors.Marlee Sholtes, Natalie Volek and Giacinta Pugliese could each crack the starting lineup at some point.Soilis expects to be able to go at least eight deep, but is stressing that everyone, no matter her role, must give an all-out effort.“There's going to be nights when we do not shoot well, but defensively, we have to lay it all on the line.“We want to establish the tempo, but still maintain ball control,” he added. “We're not going to play unnecessarily fast, but we will run when the opportunity is there.”
Coach: Steve AndreassiLast year: 14-8Experience returning has Andreassi optimistic about what Karns City can accomplish.The Gremlins took a big step forward last year, going from a winless conference season to collecting three wins. Being able to further that progression will be made easier by the fact Karns City didn't lose any players to graduation last spring.“My senior girls have received a lot of playing time over the past four years,” Andreassi said. “They understand what it's like to play varsity because they were able to get experience and understand the flow of the game. They've gotten better skill-wise.”Karns City's six seniors will look to improve on its postseason finish — the Gremlins were eliminated by eventual District 9 Class 3A champion Punxsutawney, 49-17, in the first round.Emma Johns, a 5-foot-5 senior guard, led the team in scoring last season by averaging 12 points per game. Senior guard/forward Rossi McMillen led the Gremlins by averaging nearly seven rebounds per game.They will be joined by fellow seniors Julia Andreassi, a guard/forward, guards Abigail Callihan and Alyson Fennell and forward Brooke Manuel.Guard Rosie Carden and forward Emma Dailey will also be counted on to serve in key roles.“I think we'll have the ability to slow the game down,” Steve Andreassi said. “We will also be aggressive. We only played seven players last year, this year we could have 10-12 girls playing.”
Coach: Chris AndreassiLast year: 10-2After falling to Beaver last year in the WPIAL semifinals during an abbreviated season, the Knights are hungry to get back into the swing of things despite the graduation loss of guard Nevaeh Ewing, who averaged 13.3 points per game last year.“She is a huge loss,” Andreassi said. “One of the great pure shooters I've ever been around. Teams always had to account for her and if they didn't, they were going to have to pay for it.“This is where the young talent comes into play.”Players like junior guard Hattie McGraw can draw some attention with her shooting ability, Andreassi said, along with freshman Karlee Buterbaugh, who will add some height at 5-foot-11.“We handle the ball well,” Andreassi said. “We look to take advantage of that and get a lot of dribble penetration and shooting perimeter shots.”Returning starters include senior guard Madilyn Boyer and junior point guard Nina Shaw. The duo both averaged just above 11 points per game last season, while Boyer racked up 7.7 rebounds per game for the Knights.“We have some returning starters and some promising young talent,” Andreassi said. “First of all, I expect leadership out of both of them (Boyer and Shaw). Boyer is a four-year starter, Shaw a three-year starter, so I expect their experience to be a big help.”
Coach: Dana PetruskaLast year: 10-10The 2021-22 season was an inconsistent one for the Planets. They lost four straight games in January and were in danger of the program's first losing season in recent memory before winning four of their last five to finish .500.Mars is hoping a number of talented returnees leads to more ups than downs this season.Guard Olivia Donnelly, forward Ava Black and swing player Kaitlyn Pelaia give Petruska a strong trio to lean on.Black nearly averaged a double-double last year with 16 points and nine rebounds and has the ability to play inside or outside.Petruska considers Donnelly to be her best overall player.“She's played every position for us since her freshman year,” the coach said. “She has great leadership skills and has really developed into a good all-around player.”The role of playing point guard is not yet settled, though junior Alexa McDole saw time there last year.Seniors Kylee Fredericks and Jess Winters, junior Avery Bennett and freshman Vita Vargo all look to play prominently into the Planets' fortunes.
Coach: Dee ArblasterLast year: 14-10In the sixth year of her second stint with Moniteau, Arblaster has a large hole to fill.Aslyn Pry was the 2020-21 Butler Eagle Girls Basketball Player of the Year. She led the Lady Warriors in scoring and rebounding and helped them to the District 9 title game, too. She has since graduated and moved on to play at Butler County Community College.Now, freshmen and sophomores occupy a good deal of Moniteau's roster. Taking that into account, Arblaster underlined the fact that the Lady Warriors' offense will have to be more balanced this year.“I think they know what it takes,” Arblaster said. “We're going to have to play a totally different style of game.”Sophomore point guard Catherine Kelly started every game last year as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points per outing on her way to being named District 9 Rookie of the Year. She'll be leaned on heavily for leadership, Arblaster said.Senior forward Victoria Pry wasn't a starter last year, but played in 21 of Moniteau's 24 games.Abbey Jewart and Davina Pry settle into starting roles, as well.Kendall Sankey, another sophomore, showed potential before she was injured a third of the way into last season. She'll provide a bit of depth when she gets back in January.
Coach: Molly RottmannLast year: 18-3The Trojanettes are already dealing with adversity as sophomore guard/forward Ava Walker will be out for an extended time with a knee injury.Her 10.3 points and six rebounds per game as a freshman helped North reach the WPIAL Class 3A championship game last year.“You don't replace a player like Ava easily,” said Rottmann, “but we're lucky to still have a strong core group to build around.”That group includes 5-foot-11 junior point guard Dacia Lewandowski, who, aside from her 13 points, four rebounds and three assists per game, will bring confidence to the team just from her presence on the floor.“She's been our point guard for the last two years and it's a perfect role for her,” Rottmann said. “She knows the game, where everyone is supposed to be and she really emphasizes communication on defense.”Also returning as starters are guards Alayna Rocco and Tori Drevna. The former led the team in scoring last year as a freshman with 13.6 points per game and averaged five rebounds.Junior guard Anna Waskiewicz was the team's top player off the bench a year ago and is primed to move into a starting spot.Freshman Sarah Loughry has impressed at point guard and should be able to spell Lewandowski if needed.Seniors Anastasia Peterson and Carys Mundy, both forwards, should also see key minutes on the court.
Coach: Dorothea EppsLast year: 3-14Many of the Raiders' struggles a year ago were due to the absence of point guard Jess Bickart, who missed almost the entire season with a wrist injury.It had a rippling effect on SV, which was forced to play Olivia West at the position. She turned in a good season with 15.3 points per game, but as a whole, the offense struggled.“We fought hard in every game last year, but turnovers killed us,” Epps said.Bickart is back and healthy, allowing West to return to her natural position on the wing, giving the Raiders confidence they can rebound from a frustrating 2020-21 campaign.“Olivia is multi-talented on the court, can post up and she is one of our best shooters,” Epps said.Junior guard/forward Chloe Leonard will team with Bickart and West as “the three catalysts of the team,” according to Epps, who said her team should be able to go seven or eight deep.
Coach: Amber OsbornLast year: 15-4Last year's district runner-ups, the Rockets are seeking to carve out a new identity.“I lost a really strong group last year, so this is kind of a rebuilding year,” sixth-year coach Osborn said. “All (of the) kids are stepping into a new role as far as what's being asked of them and expectations and the amount of time that they'll be on the floor.”Maryann Ackerman is now on scholarship as a javelin thrower at Oregon State. Hallie Raabe and Anna Kadlubek have continued their hoops journeys in the PSAC at Slippery Rock University and Indiana (Pa.), respectively. Kelly Benson moved on to play at St. Vincent College.Still, Osborn returns five seniors, all who have seen varsity time.Ella McDermott and Bronwyn McCoy have experience as vital role players. Both can play wherever they're needed.“They see the potential that our team has and (we're) just trying to find our new identity as a team,” Osborn said.Gianna Bedel and Katie Book are fast and athletic, Osborn said.“They add a lot to the game whenever they're on the floor,” Osborn said. “They just didn't get tons of time because of who they were behind as far as the players that we lost. But, they have enough experience that I would expect them to do very well.”
Coach: Ally KeppleLast year: 12-11Looking to build upon a playoff victory in 2020, the Damsels are another year wiser. This season, their veteran group will be looking to start off on a better foot than the last.“We have to come out strong and fight every game,” Kepple said.The team welcomes back a cast of starters in junior guard Kennedy Vogle and seniors Hailey Kriebel, Keira Croyle, and Clarion University pledge Dominika Logue, who averaged 16.5 points and eight rebounds per game a season ago.“They've been playing together for multiple years now and that really is going to be a positive thing for us,” Kepple said.Senior Maggie Minick would have offered yet another experienced presence, but she tore her ACL over the summer. A starter for the team since her freshman campaign, she'll effectively serve as a student assistant coach this year.The fifth starting slot won't belong to a specific player as much as it will be a wild card. On a given night, guard Hailey Theuret, an adept outside shooter, might stand in. On another, it might be 5'10” forward Abigail Gruver or disciplined defender Katie Gezik.“Each one of them has something that's really helpful to us,” Kepple said. “As for which one is going to be starting, it's all going to depend on who we play.”Eagle staff writers Derek Pyda and Brendan Howe, as well as correspondents Josh Rizzo and Stephen Cukovich, contributed to this report.
