Much of the buzz around Summit Athletic Conference girls basketball focuses on the debut of highly touted freshman Ayanna Patterson at Homestead High School, where she’ll join a slew of talented players.
The Spartans were 19-3 last season and enters 2018-19 with four returning starters to clearly earn the nod as conference favorites to open the season. The addition of the already heavily recruited 6-foot-4 Patterson will be huge.
But this promises to be an intriguing season in many ways, with new coaches at Snider and Wayne and plenty of game changers on the court throughout the conference.
Let’s shoot four “3s” to get primed for the season, which tips off this week:
3 TEAMS TO WATCH
1. Homestead
The Spartans tend to reload every year, and they have the firepower again. Patterson joins a roster with returning starters Sylare Starks (18.1 ppg), Sydney Graber (15.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Haley Swing (9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Kara Gealy (7.4 ppg, 4.8 apg). Other strong players in the mix are junior Rylie Parker, senior Bri Lucas and sophomores Amber Austin and Grace Sullivan. That lineup should thrive if the necessary team chemistry develops. Homestead starts the season as the one to chase.
2. South Side
Juanita Goodwell’s track record as coach (153-67 entering her 10th season) indicates the Archers will be a contender, despite being a relatively young team. They lost Shamari Tyson, Shamari Jackson, Mikeba Jones and Taniece Chapman from last year’s 23-5 sectional championship team. But Goodwell returns two experienced, confident juniors in Alaya Chapman and Jaci Jones and she expects them to lead the way. The addition of freshman Olivia Smith and sophomore Jasmine Combs will be helpful, too. “This is the hardest-working group we’ve ever had,” Goodwell said. “They like each other, that’s a plus in itself. They know they’re playing for something bigger.”
3. Bishop Luers
The Knights played a lot of young players a year ago and return everyone except leading scorer Kathryn Knapke, who graduated. Lydia Reimbold is the top returning scorer at 10.6 points per game and also pulled down seven rebounds per game. Others who should step up include senior twins Katelynn and Ashlynn Gray, sophomore Janaiya Bright and juniors Libby Bierbaum, Dori Javins and Kennedy Glenn.
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Carissa Garcia, Concordia
Garcia is simply a do-everything point guard. She averaged 20.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game last season. She had six games of 25 or more points last season, with a high of 32 points on a night when she hit 14 of 17 shots against Wayne. She had a season-high six assists in the same game. She has the additional task of leading a young, inexperienced team.
2. Sylare Starks, Homestead
Starks is a 5-foot-8 guard with quickness, an ability to score (18.1 ppg) and court savvy. She brings a level of maturity to her play that should rub off on the other players, and the fact she has three other seniors at the leadership front is huge and takes some pressure off Patterson. Starks sets a tone of aggressive offense that helps the Spartans thrive.
3. Olivia Smith, South Side
This freshman guard arrives with some promising words from her coach, and resume that includes playing in some national competition. “Olivia Smith is going to be one of the best point guards we’ve seen in our area in a long time,” Goodwell said. “She had great exposure this summer.” That’s one of the keys to modern high school hoops. Freshmen play with the varsity during summer ball and the camaraderie and chemistry is created.
3 STORYLINES TO WATCH
1. Greg Addison takes over at Snider
Addison likes what he sees in his first team, and he has the best type of philosophy to win early: Defense-first. “Our defense is going to be tenacious,” Addison said. “The first thing we practice is defense. Steal the ball, easy layups – that’s Snider basketball.” Da’leshia Davis (13.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg) returns, along with Payton Gorman (5.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg).
2. Northrop, Carroll look to reload
The Bruins were 20-4 last season, losing to Carroll in the sectional championship. The Chargers were 19-7 and bowed out in the regional semifinal to South Side. Both teams were senior-loaded. Can they stay in the hunt? Northrop will rely on Destiny Jackson and TiAuna White, who played sparingly last season, as the team leaders. Carroll turns to Olivia Hoeppner, Emily Parrett and Abbey Jackson, who are equally inexperienced. It depends on which coach, Northrop’s Rashida Muhammad or Carroll’s Mark Redding, finds the critical pieces of the puzzle first.
3. Lacia Gorman tries to pump life into Wayne
The Generals were 3-41 over the last two seasons and they turn to a former General (and a state championship guard at Elmhurst) in Gorman. Her first task was to address the culture and the mindset of her players. “There’s a learning curve with the work ethic changing and the passion and all that stuff,” Gorman said. “I told them, the walking around in practice, giggling and that extra stuff is over. Practice is serious and that’s the only way we can get better. It’s going to be challenging, but at the same time, there’s no real pressure. We can only go up.”
3 NOVEMBER GAMES TO WATCH
1. South Side at Bishop Luers, Nov. 12
These are two teams with a lot of promise and we’ll get to see which of them has the edge in the early going. Both have some youth, although South is replacing more parts from its 2017-18 team. Winner gets a nice early-season morale boost.
2. Concordia at Homestead, Nov. 16
Homestead has far superior depth and firepower and could overwhelm the Cadets, but Concordia has a special player in Garcia. This might be a major learning game for the younger Cadets about what it takes to compete at the highest level.
3. Northrop at Bishop Dwenger, Nov. 30
The Bruins were one of the best teams in the area last season but they must replace a lot of graduated talent. Dwenger lost some strong players, too. Saints junior Molly Ream (4.6 assists per game last season) leads the returnees. These are two developing teams looking for their identity.
Feature photo of Carissa Garcia by Dan Vance
