By Kat McKay
For
a while, the Sports Blog has covered the wildly popular/dramatic House
Basketball season with weekly power rankings and team status updates. But we
have only covered boys— until now. Whether you knew it or not, there is in fact
a girls house basketball league, and
here for the Sports Blog Readership are its inaugural power rankings.
Unlike
the boys’ division, which is split into separate upperclassmen and
underclassmen leagues, all high school girls play together. This makes play a
little more interesting, because the best athletes across all grades get to compete against each other. And again, unlike
boys, who have two games every other week, girls consistently play on Saturdays
and practice on Mondays. That means that our plays are more intricate and our
games are more important, since there are less of them before playoffs.
I
play House Basketball and love it, but I am going to try to be as objective as
possible. That being said, I have more familiarity with upperclassmen, so this
analysis may be a little senior-heavy. As the season progresses and I get more
exposure to the different teams/kids, the rankings become more thorough. And
this is my first time, so if you have any complaints, comments, or corrections,
feel free to post on the Blue Wave Sports Blog Facebook page.
Enough
of that. Here are the power rankings, based primarily on the first week of play
and team rosters.
1. Tarheels- W, 30-5 F
First of all, well done on
the Tarheels’ part. This team, headed by junior Liz Style and senior Charlotte
Peters, absolutely blew out the Blue Devils in an unprecedented one-way stand. Any
team that scores 25 points more than its opponent in a league that rarely
scores 25 points is bound to be a serious champion contender. Style and Peters
had help from the team’s standout underclassmen presence, sophomore Elizabeth
Fucigna. To be fair, though, only time will tell if this goal differential were
due mostly to excellent Tarheels play or subpar Blue Devils shooting.
2. Huskies- W, 37-23
The Huskies scored a lot
of points. I can’t emphasize how important good shooting is in a league that is
often plagued by low scores (see: other games). If the Huskies, lead by fast
junior Alexa Sheldon and tall senior Emma Hamilton, can keep this up, they will
be at number one in no time. The underclassman worth paying attention to on the
Huskies is sophomore Tyson Maley, a past travel player who can handle the ball
better than almost anyone.
3. Sun Devils- W, 27-10
The Brooke Connors/Kathryn
Hertz combo poses a threat every season, and this year is no different. These
two seniors have worked together for probably forever, and it shows. Last year
they nearly won the championship game, so expect them to seek revenge in their
final house season. Surrounded by an above-average supporting cast, the intense
drills and plays this team employs can be the difference between nailing those
plastic trophies and watching someone else carry them home again.
4. Wildcats- W, 27-20
I played this team, so I
know what the final score doesn’t show: this game was close. The Wildcats are
lucky enough to have junior Morgan Sawitsky on their roster, but if she gets
contained by the right player defensively, they might just stall. A victory
over the Cavaliers means this team had a good opening week, but does not
necessarily indicate the rest of the season will follow suit.
5. Cavaliers- L, 20-27
This is my team. I don’t
want to be biased… but we stand a fighting chance. In general, we’re fast. My sister,
sophomore Caroline McKay, lead the team in scoring, with a lot of help from
seniors Parker Hamill and Maggie Wells. I helped by drinking water and
cheering, and sometimes touching the ball. Anyways….if we minimize fouls, we
have potential.
6. Bears- L, 23-37
Again, scoring is
important in House, and the Bears put up a solid number of points against the
Huskies. Sophomore Celia Martzolf has basketball lineage, which probably
contributed to this steady performance. I am not too familiar with anyone else
on this team, but there seems to be a pair of sisters (Elisabeth and Caroline
O’Brien), which could be interesting. The Bears could go up in the rankings
next week if they notch a win.
7. Hoosiers- L, 10-27
The Hoosiers’ senior
Kristy Gilbert is arguably the best player in the league. So their ten points
is surprising. I believe senior Riley Sousa is returning from a basketball
hiatus, so when she warms up, this team can probably provide better numbers
than they did this week against the Sun Devils.
8. Blue Devils- L, 5-30
In order to not be the
team everybody desperately wants to play, the Blue Devils have to make more shots.
Hopefully this was just a slow start, and senior Evie Horn’s team will come out
vengeful next week. Junior Phoebe Taylor used to play for the DHS squad, so
look for her to make an impact.
That’s it for Week 1… look
for updated rankings next week, after the preliminary rust is shaken off.
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