Girls basketball preview for Oneida, Cazenovia, Hamilton, Morrisville-Eaton, Madison, Stockbridge Valley, Canastota, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill By Kyle Mennig, Oneida Daily Dispatch Posted: 11/24/13, 3:02 PM EST | Canastota is also coming off a season that ended with a first-round sectional loss and Vinny Salamone will have a very young squad to work with this winter. Junior Allyson Malbouf is the only returning starter for the Raiders. She’s one of five juniors on the team, as is talented newcomer Kaitlyn Szkolnik. Canastota also has three freshman on the team as well as 5-foot-10 eighth grader April Dabrowski. Salamone’s goal for his young squad is day-to-day improvement. ONEIDA ..Last season, Oneida’s girls basketball team made a run to the Section III Class A semifinals behind solid play from seniors Lindsey Casler and Nichole Shene, as well as junior Jenna Didio. If coach Katie Nestler’s squad wants to make another deep run this winter, it will have to do so without any of those three players. Casler and Shene graduated last spring and Didio didn’t come out for the team, leaving Nestler with a young squad entering the new season. Even so, Oneida will have two solid returning starters in Jennifer and Jillian Brodock. Jennifer, a junior, had a team-high 112 rebounds last season and her 139 points were second on the team, earning a Tri-Valley League honorable mention. Sister Jillian averaged 4.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, numbers the sophomore could improve on. Also expected to play key roles for Nestler’s squad are returners Zoe Olmsted, Jordan Newton, Riley Markle and Alex Day, as well as newcomers Sam Lusher, Claire Mancarella, Brooke Hatch and Kayla Stannard. Nestler’s goal for her young team is to compete in each game throughout the season. CAZENOVIA..coach Chris Carpenter also has a young squad coming off a strong 2012-13 campaign - his first leading the team - that featured a Section III Class B semifinal berth. Kelsie Fredericks, Maggie Johnson, Audrey Burbidge, Lizzy Bigsby and Danielle Tedesco should be key contributors as the Lakers try for a second straight league title with Westhill, Skaneateles and Marcellus aiming to stop Cazenovia from repeating. Also back for his second season at the helm is Hamilton coach Gary Weeks and he returns four starters to an Emerald Knights team that finished 10-10 last season with a loss in the Section III Class D quarterfinals to New York Mills. “Our goals have always been the same in the six years that I have been with the program as an assistant and now head coach: Win the division, win sectionals and go to states,” said Weeks. “I am excited about all of the veterans we have returning and I am counting on that experience to lead us to a successful season.” Senior Lauren Weeks was a first team All Center State Conference selection last year, averaging 11.1 points per game while making 47 3-pointers. Junior teammate Jess Welsh averaged 9.2 points, 3 assists and 3.4 steals per game to earn an All-CSC second team selection and will be joined by returning seniors Hayleigh Hanson and Sarah Foster in the starting lineup. Hayden Nolan, Teanna Wilcox and Bridget Blain also return and Sara Russin, Caitlyn Purdy and Olivia Dow are Hamilton’s top newcomers. Oriskany and New York Mills ..should again be at the top of Section III in Class D while Weeks expects to compete with Waterville and Sauquoit Valley for a league title. MORRISVILLE-EATON.. Weeks also noted that Morrisville-Eaton should be much improved this season, something that would suit its coach Kevin Johnson just fine. Johnson, a veteran coach, took over at M-E last season and guided the team to an 8-18 record, losing to Fabius-Pompey in sectionals. All-CSC Second Team selection Jessie Murray returns to the starting lineup, as do honorable mention Jennifer Hilts, Emily Widger and Kathryn Parkhurst. Deena Scoville is the top newcomer for M-E. MADISON.. went 6-6 in CSC Division IV play last season, the Blue Devils first in the new league. Coach Elaine Hogan’s squad finished with a 9-9 overall record but lost four starters. Megan Rockhill is Hogan’s lone returner in the starting lineup and Madison’s only senior. “She is a natural leader, so if we are only to have one senior to lead the way, I couldn’t have asked for a better young lady to fill this role,” said Hogan. Hogan’s newcomers include sophomore guards Lexi Tubbs and Autumn McLain, junior forward Haley Ponton and freshman forward Courtney Cochran. Playing in a division with powerhouses New York Mills and Oriskany, as well as facing Hamilton in crossover games, means the young Blue Devils could have some growing pains this season but Hogan expects big things from her squad in the future. STOCKBRIDGE VALLEY.. Madison’s former CCL rival Stockbridge Valley also has just one senior returning, although three of coach Jackie Fort’s other starters have had plenty of game experience. Last year the Cougars were limited to five players for much of the season, still finishing with a 5-4 record in league play and reaching the Section III tournament. Junior guard Sarah Papa, sophomore guard Jordyn Sanford and freshman forward Olivia Marshall join senior guard Cassie Marshall as returners for Stockbridge Valley, this year with three bench players to spell them throughout the season. Their leadership will play a key role as the Cougars will look to challenge defending league champion Cincinnatus for the CCL crown. New Vernon-Verona-Sherrill head coach Keith Schiebel takes over a young team with
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 23:13:10 +0000
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