CM Girls’ Basketball Seek Improvement
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – Central Mountain girls’ basketball coach Terrance Green is hoping a helping of 12 letter-winners will bring an improved performance in the new season. The Lady Wildcats open the season Friday and Saturday at the annual Berwick tournament; home opener will be next Monday with Mifflin County.
With a squad of 19, Green said a goal is for Central Mountain to be competitive in every game. “We plan to improve on our win total from last season (one). Expectations are to be competitive against our divisional opponents and also be competitive against our district opponents. Our ultimate goal is to play in districts.”
While plenty of experience returns, Green said there will be plenty of new faces filling roles at the varsity and JV level, calling the start of the year “a learning curve at first, but once we get everything together, I believe we will do well.”
As to team strengths, he listed team cohesion, speed and quickness, defense and what he described as “strong incoming new players who will make an immediate impact.” Areas of concern included rebounding/boxing out, becoming better shooters and offensive players, finding an identity, finishing games and not giving up on themselves.
Players looked upon to contribute this year include:
Morgan Wetzel (Jr, F) and Hayley Bauer (Sr, F) – “They will both have to do a great job this season controlling the boards and taking their opportunity to score when it arises.”
Taylor Fletcher (Sr, G), Marissa Moyer (Jr, G), Summer Flanagan (Jr, G), and Talyn Fredericks (Sr, G) – “We will be looking to these girls to score the ball each night. They have to stay locked in and focused on taking their shots when they become available but more importantly, they need to also distribute the ball as well.”
Katie Burrows (Jr, F) and Madison Courter (So, G/F) – “Our shut down defenders. They will fuel our defense and look to cause havoc on the defensive side of the ball. They also are capable of scoring as well. Very good two-way players.”
Central Mountain’s schedule will again have a District 6 – District 4 look, according to the coach: “Within District 6 we will play Hollidaysburg, Bellefonte (twice), Mifflin County, Altoona, Tyrone, and Huntingdon. Competition among these schools will be very tough. We will look to be competitive against these teams this season and show we can play with anyone. We also play some schools outside D6 that will be tough as well (Nespoli Tournament at Berwick (D2), Dubois (D9) and Mifflinburg (D4).
He looks for the District 4-oriented Heartland Conference to again be a challenge: “Our division in the Heartland (Heartland I) will be tough once again this season. All programs are returning most of their girls from last year, so it will be a good test throughout the season for us. We are looking to improve on our divisional win totals this season. All division games are physical, so it will be important for us to take care of our bodies throughout the season.”
