EAHS girls basketball preview

Head Coach: Mike Pericci, fourth season.

2007-2008 record: 2-22 overall, 0-16 section.

Key returners: Becca Bigler, senior, G; Bri Kuhn, sophomore, G; Jenna Rosenberry, sophomore, G; Emily Carter, sophomore, G.
The most experienced position for the young Bears will be guard, where they return their top two scorers from last year, Bigler and Kuhn.

Bigler is the lone senior on the team and will be the team’s leader game in and game out. She is, however, switching to guard this season after playing mainly forward last year. She is an aggressive player who isn’t afraid to take the ball strong to the basket and dive for loose balls.

Kuhn had a good freshman year on varsity and returns with a year of experience under her belt. She is also the Bears’ best outside shooter, so look for her to launch 3-Pointers when E-town needs them. Pericci said he expects Kuhn and Bigler to be the team’s biggest offensive weapons.

Rosenberry and Carter are, like most of E-town’s players, tough, resilient and aggressive.

“Jenna is our best defensive player, but she has worked very hard on developing her game on the offensive side of the court,” he said. “Emily is an aggressive, scrappy player who isn’t afraid of mixing it up with the other girls.”

Both will see a lot of time on the court and bring tenacity on defense and excellent speed.

Key Newcomers: Jamie Ahern, junior, G; Dani Altomonte, junior, G/F; Nellie Marsh, sophomore, F; Katie Carter, sophomore, F; Sarah Fairbanks, freshman, F.
E-town gets even deeper at the guard position with Ahern and Altomonte. Pericci said that both will see significant time at the varsity level.

A trio of new forwards – Marsh, Carter and Fairbanks – give the Bears skill and depth in the paint. Both Marsh and Carter are good post players and will battle inside for rebounds, especially on the offensive end, and should give E-town a chance to keep possessions alive that way. They also play physical defense.

Fairbanks could develop into one of the best all around players on the team. The 6-1 freshman is a threat from anywhere on the court and gives the Bears height on defense, something they lacked last season.

“Sarah gives us an inside-out threat, as she can play in the post and on the perimeter,” said Pericci.

Key Losses: Jen Dunkelberger (graduation), Amanda Blecher (injury).
Dunkelberger was the lone senior on last year’s team, and gave them a tremendous amount of experience and leadership. She passes the torch to Bigler, who is the only senior this season.

Blecher, who played a lot last year, will miss the year with a knee injury.

“She has been one of our most dedicated players throughout the season, so we will be relying on Amanda to provide encouragement and motivation to the other girls this season,” said Pericci.

Strengths: Work ethic, team speed, aggressiveness, athleticism.
The Bears are coming off a season where, while the win-loss record was not where they want it to be, they gained extremely valuable experience and learned about playing and winning at the varsity level. Those lessons have translated into outstanding work ethic and aggressiveness, which will pay dividends in the second halves of games.

“The girls on this team work harder than any team I have ever seen,” Pericci said. “Their sole motivation is to get better, both individually and as a team.”

Also, many of the girls play other sports are highly athletic. There will be very few teams that out-hustle the Bears this year, and that willingness to dive for loose balls and fight for rebounds could be a major reason why the Bears surprise some teams this season.

They also have a stable of fast players. Pericci said he will use the team’s overall speed to its advantage on both ends of the court.

“Expect to see a more up-tempo style of play, with us running the floor and pushing the ball up the court,” he said. “We have worked extremely hard on the defensive side of the ball, and we have several lock-down defenders who will give other teams fits.”

Weaknesses: Youth, confidence.
E-town was an extremely young team last year, and they return another group of young players. Once again, the Bears have only one senior on the team (there are 17 players on the roster), but they do have a year of experience under their belts. That said, E-town will still being going against more-experienced teams nearly every game and those with little to no varsity experience will need to get adjusted in a hurry for the Bears to be successful.

“Many of the younger girls are going to be asked to contribute on both ends of the floor this season. How quickly the girls get adjusted to the varsity game will have a direct impact on how well we do,” Pericci said.

For any team coming off of a two-win season, confidence is a tough thing to have. But the E-town players have to put last year behind them and work hard on improving. A few early season wins will be crucial to this group in terms of believing they can win at this level.

“The girls have to believe in themselves and in their ability to compete with some of the best teams in the L-L League.

Outlook: Instead of viewing last season in a negative light, Pericci and the Bears are using it as a learning experience and as motivation. The Bears are hungry and ready to get the program back where it was when Janelle Garber and company stormed into the state playoffs. This E-town team doesn’t have that many weapons, but it certainly has enough talent and, believe it or not, experience to be competitive in the section.

Pericci isn’t lowering his expectations because of last year’s growing pains. He expects the Bears to play hard and to get better.

“We have very high expectations for this year’s team,” he said. “The girls have worked hard in the offseason and so far in the regular season. We constantly talk about getting better every day, and the girls have gotten better, both individually and as a team.

“The coaching staff and players have set high goals for this season, which include competing for the section championship. We are using last year’s season as motivation to prove people wrong this year.”

Expect a ton of defense from the Bears this season and for that to propel them to plenty of wins. Bigler is the lone senior and the team leader, and Pericci and the underclassmen couldn’t ask for a better one. She will lead by example, and is one of the toughest players on the court at all times. Her play elevates that of her teammates and brings out the best in them, which is what leaders do.

Kuhn could blossom into one of the best outside shooters in the section and will need to make some big shots if the Bears are to be competitive.

And Rosenberry and Carter will also be important to the team, as they will need to get the young, inexperience forwards involved and run the offense smoothly.

With three new post players expected to see significant time, it could take a little while for the offense to jell, but the Bears should get those kinks ironed out in preseason scrimmages. But once these young players get adjusted to the physical play in the paint at the varsity level, look out. Fairbanks could very well be the second or third leading scorer on the team before it’s all said and done.

This is a deep team that will use nearly every player on the roster nearly every game, which will pay dividends in the next couple of years.

E-town might be a year or so away from taking the section by storm, but that doesn’t mean the Bears won’t be a force to be reckoned with this season.

“While we are still young, the girls are ready and willing to step up this season,” said Pericci. “We are relishing the underdog role, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”

Which could be a lot of wins for one of the league’s youngest teams.