Nov 29, 2015 5 min read

After an unblemished, undefeated conference record, the California High School girls basketball team earned its first PIAA tournament win in school history last season with a 40-28 win over Venango Catholic.

However, the record-setting season for the Trojans came to an immediate halt after only managing 26 points in their second-round game against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, ultimately falling 36-26.

What California coach Chris Minerd didn’t know was that North Catholic was going to get the best of them again, this time in the offseason.

Already losing post player Lyndsey Huhn to graduation, the Trojans saw the transfer of now-senior Kylie Huffman to the team that ended their magical run last year. The 6-2 junior, who averaged 11 points and five rebounds in 25 games for California, is receiving interest from Division I schools.

“We lost six seniors and ironically lost again to North Catholic,” said Minerd, who led California to a 25-3 record last season. “When you lose two six-footers (Huhn and Huffman), the million dollar question is how you replace them. You have to work within the parameters in what you have. Right now, we don’t have a legitimate inside presence.”

The inexperienced Trojans will have to rely on their ability to run the floor and shoot from the perimeter to be repeat as Section 3-A champion this year.

“A lot of it is still a mystery,” said Minerd. “Some of the girls I plan on playing didn’t see a lot of time last year and are stepping into varsity action for the first time.”

The benefit California will have this year is the ability of the guards to run its offense.

Junior Jenna Miller, who averaged slightly over six points and nearly three-and-a-half assists per game last season, and sophomore Bailey Vig will operate the backcourt for the Trojans. Vig average 10.7 points and three rebounds last season.

Miller has held the point guard duties since her freshman year. However, Minerd admits moving her around this year to allow for better opportunities is a good possibility.

“We are looking to use her at point guard, shooting guard and maybe get her into the three position (small forward),” said Minerd. “Instead of being the distributor like in past seasons, she will have to also be able to score for us this year. The challenge is to get them to gel and for everybody to accept their new roles on this team.”

The youthful Eagles began last season with a win but 10 consecutive losses followed as they finished near the bottom of the Section 3 with a 4-10 conference record.

The good news for Avella is that it progressed with each game last season and only lost one senior to graduation. Forward Raneisha Brown is one of three seniors. Junior forwards Grace Lengauer and Brayden Tarolli return.

The Rangers finished third in Section 3-A last year with a 9-5 conference record, but failed to get to .500, finishing 11-12 overall. Head coach Gary Kacsur and Fort Cherry looks to be back in the thick of things with the possibility to compete for a conference title despite the loss of Tina Bellhy to graduation.

The Rangers have some height in 5-11 Hannah Green and 5-9 Shannon Relihan, both juniors.

The main issue the Rockets had last year was Section 3 rival California, which tainted a 20-4 overall record for Jefferson-Morgan last season. Three of those four losses were at the hands of the Trojans, leaving first-year head coach Chris Niemiec and the Rockets to settle for second place in the conference.

“I think we settled for an extra pass and an outside shot too often last year,” said Niemiec. “But playing in the playoffs last year gives us additional experience. They have that feeling now. Their confidence is high.”

Jefferson-Morgan returns its entire starting five, including seniors Nicole Venick and Ally Bogden, from last season and looks to be the favorite on paper coming into 2015-16.

“It really is the mentality of taking it a game at a time,” said Niemiec. “Our players have been playing together for a long time and that only breeds more confidence.”

Depth could be an issue for the Maples again after only nine players on their roster produced a 5-17 overall record last season, three of those wins coming in section play. With the graduation of five seniors, it will be a challenge to keep players fresh for the Maples.

Leadership will come from such players as 5-8 senior Madison Bogden and 5-6 senior guard Lauren Sanetrik.

Despite losing Teraee Bradford to graduation, the Greyhounds return Sidney Fincik for her senior season. They look to rebound from a streaky yet disappointing 8-14 record last season, which featured three- and four-game losing streaks.

The good news for the Pioneers is that it can’t get any worse than last season, when they went winless. A priority to improve on offense will be a major focus, as West Greene only managed 19.3 points per game. Marissa Rode, a 5-10 junior forward, and Sarah Courtwright, a 5-6 senior guard, return.