The 2010/11 basketball season is officially underway for local
high school teams, as the Lady Lions and Tigers took turns beating
Piner last week in their first pre-season games.
Analy, last year’s Sonoma County League champion, will be
gunning for its second straight title under veteran coach Earl
Pasamonte, while the Lions will be looking to join the SCL elite
under first-year varsity coach Melissa Jones.
Tigers look for repeat
Analy graduated several key players from last year’s 20-7
champion squad, most notably MVP guard Jen Tsurumoto, but the Tiger
brain-trust is optimistic that a tough pre-league schedule and
strong group of veteran returnees will translate to success this
winter.
“Things haven’t changed in our philosophy, we want to press
other teams from baseline to baseline, offensively and
defensively,” said Pasamonte. “When teams play us I want them to
have their track shoes on and see if they can keep up. As for our
pre-season schedule, it is easily the hardest since I took over the
program. The majority of teams we will play will be playoff bound
or are perennial playoff teams,” he added.
Although the Tigers haven’t finalized their roster, they could
have as many as seven returnees from last year’s squad. Projected
starters include; senior guards Katy Lowry and Molly Schuster,
second-year junior point guard Kelley Benck, senior, four-year
forward/center Chelsea Pricert, and center Ali Van Houten.
Last week, Analy jumped all over Piner in their home opener,
70-22. Leading scorers were Lowry (20), Van Houten (12), and
Pricert (11).
The Tigers will participate in a couple of scrimmages at
Montgomery and St. Vincent this week before visiting Novato on Nov.
30 in the Foundation Game (7:30 p.m.). Analy will compete in the
Acalanes Tournament on Dec. 2-4 and the Puma Invitational at Maria
Carrillo on Dec. 9-11. The Tigers open the SCL season on Jan. 4 at
El Molino.
New look Lions
The Lions figure to be much-improved this season under Jones, a
2001 El Mo graduate (Holy Names ‘05) that starred on three SCL
championship teams under former coach Jim Fagundes. Jones spent
two years coaching the El Mo frosh before piloting the JV team last
year. She takes over the varsity reigns from long-time coach Tom
Clarke.
“I expect to be more competitive than in the last couple of
years,” said Jones. “We have some girls that have been playing
together since middle school and have been working very hard. We’re
going to have fun, and always give100-percent.”
The El Mo roster includes; seniors Hannah Whitman, Emma Vierra,
Ashley Bell, Kaity Gentry, Kayla Deleiden, and Siera Taylor;
juniors Carly Graves, Megan Nonella, Molly Nagle, Stephanie
Singler, Kerri Rampone, Jessica Paddock, and Shayna Levine.
The Lions are coming off of a winless SCL season a year ago and
shouldn’t have much problem in surpassing their season win total of
four. In fact if things fall into place early, El Molino could
easily be the most improved team in the SCL this year.
“A big factor will be bringing our JV team from last year and
our varsity team together,” said Jones.
The ladies are coming off of a 50-24 win over Piner, last week.
Leading scorers included Levine (17 points, 11 rebounds), Gentry
(11 points), Vierra (5 points), and Graves (5 points).
There could be a power shift underway in the SCL this year, as
several of the top teams regroup in a wide-open title chase. The
leading contenders are expected to be Casa Grande, Analy, and
Petaluma, with El Mo, Sonoma, Healdsburg, and Windsor in a group
looking to make some noise.
Upcoming games for the Lions included at Montgomery on Nov. 20,
and the Marin Academy Tournament on Dec. 2-4.
Next week:
boys basketball preview
