Veteran Lady Bucks Set to Go
Morgan and Friends Ready for Senior Year
by Jim Morgan
FARWELL – Yes, the 2014-2015 Lady Bucks Basketball season is here and there is high expectation in the community. Coaches Carl Gentzyel and Jim Morgan are surely looking at the team for that.
This class of 2015 Lady Bucks has been the talk since they have played at the sixth grade level as they swept three straight tournaments back then. But since then, some players have decided not to play or moved out of the area. Two players left and came back to the area.
The seniors are Shae Cowfer, Maria Morgan, Natasha Peck, Abby Ransom, Alaina Tripp and Tiffany Werts. The Lady Bucks finished last year with a 14-9 record as they lost in the first round of the District Four playoffs to Northeast Bradford.
Morgan is the director on the floor and her ball playing speaks loudly on how hard she works on her game. Last year’s stats for Morgan: 27.5 points, 7.9 assists, 71% at the free throw line and 48% from the field, 5.9 Rebounds and 5.4 steals per game. Tripp and Cowfer are the two and three guard positions and can shoot the rock around the 15 foot mark. Peck is returning from a knee injury that she suffered in the fourth game last season. At practice she is running the court very well, like she never missed a game and will play underneath with Werts. Werts has worked on her game over the off season and has come into the season with the intention of dominating the boards. Last season she averaged10.5 points,10.3 rebounds, shooting 40% from the field. Ransom is going to fill in as the sixth man, giving Tripp and Cowfer some rest during the game.
Sophomore Emalea Mills saw 18 games last season as she came off the bench, giving the girls underneath much needed rest. This season she will be filling in the same way. Also giving help to the varsity level will be juniors Paige Sockman in a guard position and Bridget Gardner will help on the boards as sophomore Hailey Risley will give help at guard.
Bucktail has a large group of girls which is great. These underclassmen will be able to work on their game at the JV level and start showing the coaches how much they want to improve to play the varsity level:
Junior Leela Singh; sophomores Ebonee Spriggs, Alanna Tripp, Amanda Tyrrell and Renee Werts; freshmen Makenzi Brennan, Anna Cowfer, Maria D’Onofrio and Taylor Werts. The seniors are already showing the underclassman that you need to work hard at practice as this group of underclassmen is buying into that. Coach Gentzyel said he cannot remember any group that refuses a drink of water when they earn it during practice. This group of seniors speaks out and says we will run a sprint or defensive drill. Coaches Gentzyel and Morgan have to tell them to get a drink before moving on.
This group of Lady Bucks believes that the hard work that they have put into the last two and a half weeks of practice will pay off at the end of the year. They do not just want to make the postseason, they want to win during the postseason.
The Lady Bucks will open up at the Williamson Tip-Off Tournament this Friday as they will face Galeton on a 6 p.m. tip-off. Morgan just needs five points to break the career point record for both boys and girls at Bucktail High School. Outstanding player, Jason Paloskey holds it at 1,768 total points set back in 1995. The Lady Bucks first home game will be Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. when they host St. John Neumann.
