CURWENSVILLE — The Curwensville girls basketball team graduated four players — three of them starters — from last year’s squad and fourth-year head coach Dawna Wheeler says her young Lady Tide are definitely going to miss what that group brought to the table.
“We lost four seniors last year that were a huge part of this program,” she said. “Karleigh Freyer, Brooklynn Price, Madison Sheredy and Natalie Wischuck played vital roles on this team. We lost the bulk of our scoring and our rebounding. Losing those seniors also means losing a lot of energy and tenacity.”
While the Lady Tide lost the core to the team, they are returning six letterwinners this season, which will be key since the rest of the roster is comprised of freshmen.
“Seniors Jovee Elensky and Addison Warren, juniors Jayda Gaul and Briah Peoples, and sophomores Riann Clark and Kylah Wos are back, which means bringing back six girls with varsity game experience,” Wheeler said. “Both leagues we play in are very tough. It helps having girls who have varsity experience and understand the level of play at the varsity level to guide the younger players. I expect those six letter winners to fill in the holes of losing those four seniors.”
The returning letterwinners likely have a leg up as far as filling the starting roles on the team, but Wheeler says some of the youngsters could very well shake things up as the season progresses.
“Addison Warren, Jovee Elensky and Briah Peoples are looking pretty solid as starters,” Wheeler said. “Addison and Jovee will be relied on as floor generals. Briah will be expected to handle the bulk of the scoring and rebounding.
“The other two positions will be filled by the girls who step up next. Kylah Wos and Jayda Gaul will both vy for a starting spot, but some of the freshmen, especially as they become more comfortable, may work themselves into a starting role. We need girls who can score and rebound on the floor. It is likely the starting lineup may change from game to game, depending on what we need and who is performing.”
Freshmen Cheyanna Barnett, Abby Covert, Adelyn Coval, Ella McCracken, Lucy Tkacik and Tess Wheeler are the newcomers who will compete with the letterwinners for time on the floor.
And while there is competition for starting spots, coach Wheeler says that doesn’t detract from the unity the Lady Tide have as a team.
“Our biggest strength this year is the closeness of this group,” she said. “They are a fun group to be around, and they are always looking for ways to improve.”
With a young team with six freshmen and only two seniors, Wheeler’s goals for the squad are more about improvement and playing as a unit.
“Our goals for this season are to compete and communicate on and off the floor,” she said. “Every day we enter the gym we want to get better.”
Curwensville opened the season Friday, Dec. 5 at Williamsburg.
ROSTER
Seniors
*Jovee Elensky, *Addison Warren.
Juniors
*Jayda Gaul, *Briah Peoples.
Sophomores
*Riann Clark, *Kylah Wos.
Freshmen
Cheyanna Barnett, Abby Covert, Adelyn Coval, Ella McCracken, Lucy Tkacik and Tess Wheeler.
*Letterwinner
LADY TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/5 @ Williamsburg 9 – 96 0 – 1
12/8 @ Johnsonburg
12/11 @ Tussey Mountain
12/15 UNION
12/18 JUNIATA VALLEY
12/19 @ Bucktail
12/22 @ Glendale
1/5 @ West Branch
1/7 MO VALLEY
1/9 vs. Cameron County (Clarion U.)
1/12 WILLIAMSBURG
1/14 @ Brockway
1/16 PURCHASE LINE
1/20 @ Juniata Valley
1/22 GLENDALE
1/26 NORTH STAR
1/29 @ Mo Valley
1/31 @ Union
2/2 BUCKTAIL
2/3 WEST BRANCH
2/5 @ Bucktail
2/9 @ Clarion
2/11 @ Kane
