With five returning letter winners the Lady Tide are counting on improving on last seasons 3-18 mark which lost three seniors to graduation in Tess Bloom, Lindsay Barrett and Shayla Buzzard.
The big challenge for coach McCracken and his squad is to replace the 338 points (16.1 points per game) that Bloom took with her due to graduation. Bloom also was tops in free throw shooting in the area at 79% over the course of the season.
The Lady Tide led the area last year in team free throw shooting with 64 percent.
McCracken will count on several players this year to pick up the scoring slack including Savannah Strickland, Taylor Bumbarger, Katie Wriglesworth and Courtney Bachelier. All four were letter winners joining sophomore Katrina Seaburn, the fifth returnee with a letter on her resume.
Strickland, a junior, averaged 5.1 points per game by scoring 107 points while senior Bumbarger comes back after averaging 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest in 2009-10.
Wriglesworth, also a senior, paced the Lady Tide last season with 7.6 boards per contest and along with Bumbarger will be counted on heavily to increase those totals.
After scoring 2.3 points per game last year Bachelier will also see considerable playing time. The senior guard shot 59 percent from the charity stripe for Curwensville.
As a team last year the Tide scored a total of 704 points while giving up 1050 for a 16.5 points per game difference, which prompted McCracken to state, “We’re looking to play better defense this year. We have to give ourselves a better chance to win by keeping opponents from scoring.”
As McCracken sees it, everyone needs to get involved to be successful as a team, “I’m still looking for someone, everyone, to step up and lead this team. I think we have a balance of talent to work with, but it’s always up to the kids to play the game with heart and confidence to win.”
Then the Lady Tide mentor added, “I also hope they don’t get too comfortable with the hierarchy. I will put the five players on the court that give us the best opportunity to win. If that’s five freshman, so be it.”
Other girls in the mix to play valuable minutes are seniors Brittany Carter, Kate Norris and Paige McCracken; sophomores Rebecca Johnson and Cheyenne Pentz along with freshman Tierra Shope, Megan McGarry and Kealy Wassil.
Then McCracken ended with, “The girls need to understand that we are a team that has to work together and depend on each other to do what needs to be done. If one of us doesn’t do her job, it hurts the whole team.”
The Lady Tide open their season on Friday night when they travel to Flinton to play the Lady Vikings of Glendale.
You can listen to Curwensville-Glendale girls basketball on WOKW-FM, 102.9, starting with the pre-game at 7:15 PM.
ROSTER:
SENIORS – Courtney Bachelier *, Taylor Bumbarger *, Brittany Carter, Catelynn Fleming, Megan London, Paige McCracken, Kate Norris, Katie Wriglesworth *
JUNIORS – Savannah Strickland *
SOPHOMORES – Geri Bressler, Tiffany Carter, Bailey Dale, Rebecca Johnson, Cheyenne Pentz, Kaitlynn Sass, Katrina Seaburn *, Sammi Test
FRESHMAN – Audrey Bradley, Tiara Bumbarger, Abby Dugo, Lindsay Hullihen, Jordyn McFadden, Megan McGarry, Melanie Milliron, Corin Monoskey, Tierra Shope, Julia Test, Kealy Wassil
* DENOTES LETTERWINNER
SCHEDULE:
DECEMBER – 10 at Glendale, 14 BROCKWAY, 17 at Ridgway, 20 MOSHANNON VALLEY, 28 at Clearfield
JANUARY – 3 HARMONY, 7 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC, 11 at Johnsonburg, 13 at Bucktail, 17 GLENDALE, 21 at Elk County Catholic, 21 – WEST BRANCH, 25 RIDGWAY, 28 at Brockway, 31 at DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
FEBRUARY – 1 at Harmony, 4 JOHNSONBURG, 8 at Sheffield, 9 at Moshannon Valley, 11 KANE, 14 CLEARFIELD, 16 at West Branch
HOME GAMES IN CAPS