Lady Falcons seeking next step up

Basketball team off to hot start at 2-0

By Dan Truttschel

Sports Correspondent

In his first season at the helm, Westosha Central girls basketball coach Jerod Boyd saw his team take some positive steps en route to a 7-16 overall record.

Now it’s time for the Falcons to move up another rung on the ladder in their progression.

Central returns three of its top four scorers from a year ago, including senior Jaela McGill, who led the Falcons at 12 points per game and who was a second-team, All-Southern Lakes Conference selection.

The Falcons are off to a strong start at 2-0, as they hammered Palmyra-Eagle 56-13 in the opener last Tuesday, followed by a hard-fought 50-46 victory last Thursday.

Boyd is excited to see the continuous improvement and has high hopes as he settles into his second year in charge.

“I think a goal of finishing .500 would be tangible,” he said. “We had (seven wins) last year, and I think we have improved. We have to win the close games we lost last year and develop a winning mentality.”

Like many of his coaching colleagues, Boyd hopes to hang his hat on his team’s defense, which when on its game, will help the offensive side of the court as well.

“Our strengths are our defense,” he said. “We play very aggressively and jump passes, causing lots of turnovers. Offensively, we struggle scoring in the half court set.”

McGill (5-7, guard) is joined by fellow senior captains Brienna Bostanche (5-6, guard) and Hope Howell (5-6, guard) as a trio of girls Boyd will lean on for leadership.

“I expect those (girls) to use their three years as varsity players to teach the younger kids how to win,” Boyd said.

Other seniors on the varsity roster are Mikayla Cloherty (5-8, forward), Megan Sippy (5-6, forward) and Madi Stanczyk (5-10, forward).

Stanczyk was an honorable mention, All-SLC selection as a junior.

Rounding out the varsity roster are juniors Maxi Marinis (5-1, guard), Elaine Andersen (5-7, forward) and Olivia Simmons (5-8, forward); and sophomores Mackenzie Myers (5-5, guard), Abi Marcquenski (6-0, forward) and Colleen Nolan (5-7, guard).

Marcquenski has been sidelined with a sprained ankle she suffered in practice last week, Boyd said.

 

Shooting for the middle

Central posted two victories in the SLC last year, but Boyd said the goal, like the overall record, is to improve on that this time around.

And that includes possibly putting together a few surprises for some teams along the way.

“I hope to finish in the middle of the conference and get wins over schools that we aren’t supposed to beat,” Boyd said.

Waterford appears to be the top team to watch in the race toward the title, Boyd said. The Wolverines, who return a solid core of varsity starters, entered the year ranked 10th in the pre-season Division 2 poll.

The Falcons opened SLC action Tuesday night against another favorite, Union Grove. Central will be idle until next Tuesday, Dec. 2, when they travel to Elkhorn to face the Elks at 7 p.m


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