By Chris Parker
McAuley Catholic girls basketball is poised to stack more wins this season coming off a seven-win campaign with eight players from last season’s varsity team returning.
“Retaining all five starters, getting back the two girls who were injured last year, and getting some freshman who will play important minutes makes me very optimistic heading into this season,” McAuley Catholic head coach Mike Howard said.
Isabella Gilligan is a junior who earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors last season. She led the team in scoring (10.3 ppg), assists (2.2 apg) and steals (2.6 spg).
Classmate Samantah Conrad was second-team all-conference as a sophomore. She scored 8.8 points per game while leading the team in both rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocks.
Senior Vanessa Diaz is a team captain who is the best outside shooter.
Brooker Righter returns for her senior season after missing all but two games last year due to a torn ACL.
Keira Mays is a senior and vocal leader according to Howard.
The sophomore trio of Ellie Bohachick, Edie Nolan and Karah Righter round out the returning players.
Freshmen Sarah Burink, Maddox Walker and Vicky Torres will look to make immediate impacts on varsity.
“We return our entire team and will get back a few players we lost to injury last year. Another year of experience will help us reach our goals,” Howard said.
McAuley Catholic opens the season Dec. 1-6 at the Gem City Classic in Diamond.
“Success is measured in numerous ways,” Howard said. “For us, success is measured in growth and progress from the previous year. Working to improve in the areas we struggled with last year will be a focal point. If we can do that, we should be competitive every night and win more games this year.”
