NTL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: TROY HAS HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR 2023-2024 SEASON (2023-12-01)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Few teams boasts as many returnees as Troy girls’ basketball does this year. The Trojans return nearly everybody from a team that competed for a league title last year, giving them high expectations for this year.

“I think the expectations are a little higher this year just because of the way that the girls performed last year,” said coach Curtis Miller.. “The exciting thing for us is that I still see us as a relatively young team. I mean, we only have one senior, we have six juniors, we have the sophomores, and we’re bringing in a pretty big freshman class, so, overall, I’m just really excited for the girls.”

That one senior is Katie Lackey, their stretch-4 who put up eight points per game last season.

“My goal is to keep everyone together as a family,” said Lackey. “Make sure everyone is having so much fun because this is a fun sport. And I think everyone should just be having the best time.”

The backbone of the varsity team is their junior class, which features their top scorers from a year ago - Kailyn Sterling (9 PPG) and Alyssa Parks (10.3 PPG). Expect them to be backcourt starters once again.

“We’ve been working pretty hard in the offseason,” said Sterling. “I think we’re ready for the season for be here.”

They’ll likely team with freshman Giana Renzi in the backcourt, which will give the Trojans one of the quicker backcourts in the district.

“We’ll have a lot quicker ball movement, so that’s exciting,” said Parks.

They’ll have a big hole to replace in the middle with Rachel Kingsley graduating. Kingsley was a double-double threat every night out, and finished her career with over 500 rebounds.

“It’s obviously huge,” Miller said about the loss. “But we have Kendall Allen and Maddy Seeley, who both do a tremendous job down low.”

Allen got her first career double-double last year off the bench, so she should be ready to jump right into the fray.

Other returning rotation players are Ella VanNoy and Gloria Andrews, rounding out their junior class.

“It’s definitely going to make us change up a little bit,” Lackey said. “But I think we’ve made some adjustments, and I think they could work if we just focus.”

Offensively, expect them to pick up the pace as they look to push off turnovers and even out of defensive rebounds.

One area they struggled in the half court from last year was shooting, but Miller expects them to be more consistent in that regard, this year.

“Our girls are shooters,” he said. “I’m encouraging them to continue to shoot, and these girls have been working all off season to get better at their craft. We’re doing our best to push the ball more in transition, and we want to take high percentage shots, but I’m never going to tell a girl not to shoot, either.”

That gives the Trojans enough pieces to compete for a league title, if not at the district level in Class 3A.

“In our summer league we played lots of teams up in New York, and I think we held our own up there,” said Sterling. “I think we can play a lot of teams outside the NTL.”

Two years ago they battled through a losing season, but then finished with a winning record last year.

“I hope it stays like that,” remarked Parks.

However, they aren’t getting ahead of themselves when it comes to titles. Right now, it’s just one game at a time.

“How about you all come out and watch us,” said Lackey.

ROSTER (Grade)

Katie Lackey (12)

Kailyn Sterling (11)

Ella VanNoy (11)

Alyssa Parks (11)

Gloria Andrews (11)

Kendall Allen (11)

Madelyn Seeley (11)

Katie Graham (10)

Mariah Wales (10)

Giana Renzi (9)

Ellie Spalding (9)

Ava Bar-Illan (9)

Rachel Hinkle (9)

Emma Mickley (9)

Brooklynn Belawske (9)

Haylie Davis-Grove (9)

Riley Tillinghast (9)

SCHEDULE

Dec. 5 vs NEB, 7 p.m.

Dec. 7 vs Canton, 7 p.m.

Dec. 12 at Sayre, 7 p.m.

Dec. 14 vs Wyalusing, 7 p.m.

Dec. 16 vs Shamokin, 1 p.m.

Dec. 19 vs Williamson, 7 p.m.

Dec. 27 at Josh Palmer Tournament

Dec. 29 at Josh Palmer Tournament

Dec. 30 at Josh Palmer Tournament

Jan. 3 vs Athens, 7 p.m.

Jan. 9 at Wellsboro, 7 p.m.

Jan. 11 vs Towanda, 7 p.m.

Jan. 17 vs CV, 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 at NPL, 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 at Southern Columbia, 1 p.m.

Jan. 24 vs NPM, 7 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Wyalusing, 7 p.m.

Jan. 31 at Williamson, 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Athens, 7 p.m.

Feb. 7 vs Wellsboro, 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Towanda, 7 p.m.

Feb. 10 at Milton, 2 p.m.

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