Lady Falcons striving for return to playoffs
Three key returning players for Brownsville's girls basketball team are (from left) Kami Franks, Aubri Hogsett and Emma Seto.
Brownsville girls basketball coach Patty Columbia shouts encouragement during practice.
Brownsville junior Emma Seto drives to the basket during a practice drill.
Brownsville girls basketball seniors are (from left) Cassidy Lent, Kaitlyn Whitlock, Royona Lewis, Aubri Hogsett, Melanie Shumar and Amari Fowler.
BROWNSVILLE 无毛视频� Brownsville无毛视频檚 girls basketball team is coming off a winning season that included a playoff berth.
Sixth-year coach Patty Columbia would like to see a return trip to the postseason, but to do that the Lady Falcons will have to fill some huge holes left at the guard position with the graduation of Chloe Wright and Aniya Tarpley.
无毛视频淐hloe was one of our best defensive players, one of our best rebounders and our leader on the floor,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淪he was our communicator. She was the one who made sure everyone was in the right spots.
无毛视频淟osing her and our point guard Aniya Tarpley and her scoring, and also Sai Waqanivalu means we have some work to do.无毛视频�
Brownsville has two returning starters, senior Aubri Hogsett and junior Emma Seto, who will be counted on heavily.
无毛视频淭hey were two of our highest scorers last year,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淓mma is probably one of the premier players in the section. So we无毛视频檙e excited about having them back.无毛视频�
The new front court is still evolving.
无毛视频淲hat we无毛视频檙e focusing on in practice is to replace those guards and get those girls up to speed,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e still trying to sort it out. As it stands right now Kaitlyn Whitlock would probably start the season off running the point guard.无毛视频�
Sophomore Kami Franks looks to play a key role this season.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e expecting big things out of Kami,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淪he无毛视频檚 been doing a really good job. She无毛视频檚 a tremendous athlete. We look to replace some of Tarpley无毛视频檚 scoring with Kami. She无毛视频檚 a big girl who can handle the ball and shoot from the outside. She无毛视频檚 a softball star and goalkeeper for the soccer team. She无毛视频檚 a terrific athlete.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e expecting seniors Melanie Shumar and Royona Lewis to see a lot of varsity playing time. Amari Fowler, another senior, played a lot last year but she无毛视频檚 going to be delayed in joining the team this year.无毛视频�
Columbia has two newcomers who could get on the floor.
无毛视频淲e have two freshmen who are doing good things in practice: Meghan Velosky and A无毛视频檢yia Dade,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e excited to see how they progress.无毛视频�
Brownsville was 13-9 overall and 7-7 in Section 2-AAA last season, good enough for fourth place and a spot in the playoffs. The section has a few changes this year with Seton LaSalle and Beth-Center moving out and Bentworth moving in to join other holdovers Charleroi, McGuffey, South Park, Washington, and Waynesburg Central.
无毛视频淲e know South Park is going to be really good, and Charleroi always fields a competitive team,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淲aynesburg is going to be tough with C.P. Miller. We think McGuffey will be well balanced and strong.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e just going to go out there, play our best and hope that we can grab one of those playoff spots.无毛视频�
Columbia senses a carryover from last year无毛视频檚 run into the postseason.
无毛视频淚 think Aubri, Emma, Kami and Kaitlyn all played in those games so I think having that under our belts is going to help us,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 nice to have some kids who played in the playoffs coming back this year.无毛视频�
Franks无毛视频� soccer team also reached the playoffs in the fall and advanced to the quarterfinals.
无毛视频淜ami brings a strong energy to us, and the success that the soccer team has I definitely think carries over,无毛视频� said Columbia. 无毛视频淚 expect Kami to step up and be a leader, and Emma is already a leader. Our seniors are more quiet leaders.无毛视频�
The COVID-19 pandemic effected most high school teams this year and the Lady Falcons are no different.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 even have an offseason,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 have a summer league to play in. We weren无毛视频檛 able to get into our gymnasium due to COVID. It无毛视频檚 been tough on everybody. I just hope we can get this season in.无毛视频�
Columbia, who is assisted by Leanna Wright, has an established program, though, so players already know what to expect.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 pretty smooth now and this is a really nice group of kids,无毛视频� Columbia said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e fun to work with. They无毛视频檙e very hard-working girls. I无毛视频檓 really proud of them.无毛视频�