Fresh faces have Waynesburg girls basketball flying high
Freshmen playing key roles
Though the Waynesburg girls basketball team is off to a hot start, new coach Mark Capozolli believes they are just scratching the surface.
He likened them to a project that’s a work in progress.
The early returns suggest progress is definitely being made.
Three of the five Waynesburg starters and four of the 10 players on the roster are freshmen, but these girls are proving to be a cut above the average ninth graders.
Really, the Raiders couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the season.
The three freshmen starters – Addonae Johnson, Tess Pauley and Emma Blair – have helped them a 5-0 record.
The Raiders will look to keep their strong start going when they host Wash High, 6:30 p.m. tonight for a Class 3A Section 3 game
“It’s been amazing,” Pauley said of the team’s start. “Our coach has come in and coached us up. We have a good junior Chatham (Knight) that’s doing well and a senior Peyton (Cowell) that’s a good leader. Everything is going well.”
The three freshmen join Knight and Cowell in the starting lineup. A fourth freshman, Kendall McKay, sees minutes off the bench.
Waynesburg has wins over Frazier, Carmichaels, West Greene, Brownsville, in its section opener, and Chartiers-Houston.
The last two have been tight contests. They had a one-point win at Brownsville, 40-39. Against Chartiers-Houston, the Raiders led 32-16 at halftime but saw the Bucs rally and take a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Raiders shook off the stunning comeback and controlled the fourth to earn a 58-52 win.
Pauley had a team-best 19 points against Chartiers-Houston. Johnson and Blair scored 11 apiece. Knight had 13.
The Raiders prepared by playing in the Brownson House summer league in Washington.
“We put the time in and had a lot of hard work over the summer,” Pauley said.
But their story goes back well before this summer.
They all met in kindergarten and have been playing basketball together ever since.
It’s still setting in that they’ve reached the high school level now even if they look like veterans on the court.
“I feel like we’ve always dreamed of and had this in our mind,” Johnson said. “It’s been our goal for a while and now that it’s here it’s kind of surreal.”
Each of the freshmen said they couldn’t have settled in so quickly without the help of their two older teammates in the starting lineup, Cowell and Knight.
Cowell is the lone senior, and the team’s leading rebounder, while Knight is a sharpshooter from the outside.
“Peyton’s a good leader and someone that’s been playing at this level for a while, so it’s good to get her input,” Blair said. “Chatham is also an amazing leader.”
Capozolli has been a long-time AAU coach, but decided Waynesburg was a good place to start his high school coaching career.
When he first was contacted about the opening after Waynesburg athletic director Chris Minerd resigned as coach, Capozolli went on MaxPreps to get a look at the roster and saw he had a senior leader in Cowell.
He wasn’t exactly sure what he had in the freshmen, but quickly found out they can be centerpieces of a foundation.
Each one seems to play into what Capozolli envisions for a successful offensive system.
They all can shoot from the outside and are comfortable putting the ball on the floor when needed.
He wants his teams to play fast and efficient on offense, moving the ball around quickly to create open shots.
“When I first came in, I had to restructure the entire program as far as plays and my philosophy of playing the game,” Capozolli said. “We’re moving the ball a lot faster and pushing the ball up the court faster. We play a team game. I tell the girls there’s enough pie to go around for everyone, meaning scoring. If we move the ball and find the open player, whoever that open player is, take the shot. There’s a reason why all of them are on the court. It’s a team effort and all the girls on our team can shoot.”
There’s a long way to go this season, but the arrow is certainly pointing up. And it looks like the Raiders will be a problem for opponents for years to come.
“We’re still in a building stage, but the girls are listening and coming along well,” Capozolli said.