Chris Masse on girls basketball: Hughesville’s growth has continued throughout this season
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Hughesville went 2-2 last week. On the surface, that might not blow people away, but beneath that record lies the bigger story.
Quite simply, this is a rapidly improving basketball team.
Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit everyone hard and every team hard. Hughesville was impacted even more than some other teams, though, because it was breaking in a new coach in Ryan Callahan. All the time Callahan and his players would have spent during the offseason working together and learning each other was lost.
From that perspective, Hughesville (6-7) has been playing catch-up all season. Through it all, though, the Spartans are making major strides. Its two wins last week came at District 4 Class AAAA title contenders Central Columbia and Lewisburg. It dropped a three-point heartbreaker at Warrior Run and was within striking distance against Loyalsock (14-2) before the Lancers pulled away in the fourth quarter last Friday.
"It was a feeling out process. I've never coached girls or women before as a head coach," said Callahan, who was a women's assistant coach at Susquehanna for a year. "It's them seeing what I like to do and how it meshes with them and them learning me. We're still going through that process, but it's coming along."
As that process continues, so does the growth. Loyalsock mercy-ruled Hughesville early this season, but the Spartans gave them a tough game Friday. The Spartans also have a road win against HAC-I leader Selinsgrove which is undefeated in league play. Hughesville overcame halftime deficits at Central and Lewisburg last week and is 4-1 in its last five games decided by 10 points or fewer.
Like it was under previous coach Craig Weaver Sr., this team's foundation is built upon strong defense. The Spartans rarely give away anything easy and surrendered just 21 second-half points against Central and Lewisburg.
The offense is improving as well with Alex Snyder and Lauren Henry both averaging near double figures and Olivia Strother hitting the boards hard. Freshman Breanna Bobak looks like she could be one of the area's premier guards in the coming years and Maria Duff made some nice plays to help spark a fourth-quarter comeback at Warrior Run which fell just short.
"The games we've won we've been lucky enough to get up and kind of force people out of their zone," Callahan said. "They like to pack it in, but we were able to spread it out against Central and we made them guard us man when we got up eight and our three guards are good at going by people and are getting better and better at it."
So, look beyond the record when judging Hughesville. This is a team trending upward. The work continues but the Spartans embrace that challenge.
"I can never question their effort," Callahan said. "They always play hard."
SPREAD OUT: Sydney Hoffman and Jordan Hartman took turns heating up and sparking the offense in Warrior Run's 38-35 win against Hughesville last Tuesday. Each scored 14 points with Hoffman taking over in the second quarter and giving Warrior Run a six-point halftime lead after Hartman drained three early 3-pointers and scored nine quick points.
The problem when defending Warrior Run is that opponents cannot focus on slowing those two. This is a unit which has a lot of threats, including forward Emily McKee who averaged a double-double last season and senior guard Gracy Beachel. All four players are averaging more than seven points per game and freshman Alexis Hudson also has produced a double-digit performance.
Hoffman, Hartman and Beachel all are good outside shooters and even McKee hit 3-pointer against Hughesville as she unveiled another aspect of her evolving game. The Defenders (4-5) have had their season interrupted multiple times, but when they are clicking on the same night, they can be mighty dangerous.
"Our offensive efficiency is there in a lot of different ways. We have a lot of different kids that can hit the 3 and we're going to keep feeding the hot hand," Hoffman, a four-year starter, said. "Eventually, they might not be hot and we're going to get open shots because they hit their shots earlier. We try and get the ball to whoever is open because everyone is a capable scorer on this team."
GREAT COMPANY: Faith Persing now shares a record with a Montgomery legend. Persing made 11 steals in a 35-34 loss against St. John Neumann last Thursday, tying the record set by the late, great Dionna Satteson in 2015. The junior point guard is having a strong season and has helped Montgomery (7-8) win five of its last seven games.
PUTBACKS: Neumann is enjoying a strong turnaround season and it continued with that comeback win against Montgomery. The Knights (5-6) have won three more games than last year, rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit and won their second straight when Lily Reid (13 points) found Zuzu Shanaway for the game-winning basket ... Jersey Shore is another young team making strides and gave Mifflinburg a battle in Friday's 39-34 loss. Freshman Jocelyn McCracken is a player to watch and scored a career-high 17 points in that game ... Muncy (6-4) has won three of its last four games and defeated Bucktail, 43-32, Saturday as Avery Bigelow scored 14 points. Mia Edkin and Bell Hitesman each had 9 ... Taylor Rae Jones scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Williamson’s 45-34 win against Bucktail. The Warriors have made a four-win improvement this season.
Chris Masse may be reached by email at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.
DR. MASSE’S TOP 5 GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS
1. Loyalsock (13-2): Perennial state power Dunmore stymied Loyalsock on Saturday and snapped its six-game winning streak, but playing those games is what makes the Lancers so tough come playoff time. Loyalsock opened its week by making it rain at Central Columbia and draining 10 3-pointers in a 62-45 win. Cassie Gee has been heating up and made six while scoring 20 points and Jocelyn Cruz came off the bench to drain three. Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson is sitting at 99 career wins and has led Loyalsock to four state tournaments, a district championship and three league titles in his five years there.
2. Central Mountain (9-1): Sophomore Kiahna Jones is becoming one of the area's premier post players. Her offensive game is a work in progress, but she defends well and can dominate the glass. Jones grabbed 34 rebounds in three victories last week, including a career-high 15 against Jersey Shore. Senior guard Quinlynn McCann often stuffs the stat sheet and is breaking out offensively as well. The four-year starter produced 29 points in two wins last weekend, helping spark a fourth-quarter comeback in a 45-41 win against DuBois. She and freshman Ava Renninger both made five steals in that victory.
3. South Williamsport (7-0): The Mounties are District 4's last remaining undefeated team and have not let a team score more than 25 points. South is doing this with just nine players and with three sophomores, Sofia Casella, Piper Minier and Aleigha Rieppel starting for the first time. Those three have proven quick learners and South has won all its games by double-digit margins.
"It wasn't much different for me because I'm such good friends with everyone I do play with. I played JV with Sophia and Piper last year so it kind of really feels like we just have more competition now," Rieppel said after scoring 18 points and making four steals in a 44-25 win against Muncy. "Only two of us out of the nine don't play soccer, so we were already were fresh from that. It makes the season even more fun."
4. Sullivan County (6-4): A night after dropping a one-point heartbreaker at Northeast Bradford, Sullivan County went on the road again and made a major statement, throttling previously undefeated Towanda, 65-30. It was a big-time performance against an 11-0 team and showed how dangerous the Griffins, who have played a good non-conference schedule, can be come playoffs. Senior Sophia Springman is putting together a sensational senior year and went for a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds in that win. She also averaged 22.3 points and 11 rebounds last week. Kassidy Beinlich is building off last year's breakout season and averaged six assists, dealing seven against Towanda while adding seven steals.
5. Lewisburg (9-4): Sophomore point guard Sophie Kilbride runs a balanced offense well and her passing played a big role in Lewisburg rallying for a 51-49 win Saturday at Lourdes. Kilbride dealt eight assists and the Dragons rallied from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit. The victory kept Lewisburg in the running for District 4 Class AAAA's top seed as Hope Drumm scored 15 points and pulled down six rebounds. Lewisburg hits the boards hard, and Regan Llanso had eight rebounds.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK — Sheiana Tutler, St. John Neumann and Bethany Beinlich, Sullivan County
Tutler is one of the area's exciting young players and the sophomore is really putting things together. Tutler averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4.7 blocks last week, helping Neumann go 2-1. She also recorded consecutive double-doubles in the Neumann wins. Beinlich has given Sullivan a big boost after not playing last year and makes things happen in all facets. She nearly collected a triple-double against Towanda, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and five assists. The senior guard scored a career-high 20 points against NEB as well while making five steals.
GAME OF THE WEEK — Linden Hall at Loyalsock
Another week, another state title contender coming to Loyalsock. After hosting Dunmore last Saturday, the Lancers welcome defending District 3 Class AA champion Linden Hall next Saturday afternoon. Linden Hall has reached states in each of the last four years like Loyalsock and this is a game that should help both teams as they pursue their postseason goals.