ITEM FILE PHOTO
Saugus’ Olivia Valente throws up a hook shot around the defense of Tommi Hill.
By MIKE ALONGI
After making it into the Division 3 North state tournament last year, the Saugus girls basketball team is ready to take the next step. The Sachems rattled off 11 wins in 2015-2016 after a one-win campaign in 2014-2015, and fourth-year head coach Mark Schruender credits the players who were able to make it happen.
“It was great to see all their hard work pay off,” said Schruender. “We had some great leaders on the team last year who are gone now, but we also have plenty of players who were on the team that are coming back this year. They keep improving every day.”
The Sachems lost three players to graduation last year in Mikayla Niles, Gabby Valente and Kristen Weatherbee. All three played a vital role both on and off the court and will be tough to replace.
“Not only were they great players, but they were also emotional leaders out there,” Schruender said. “They were obviously the most experienced players we had, so they had to set the tone for us and they did a great job.”
There is still one Valente on the team, however, in Gabby’s sister Olivia. A senior captain this season, Olivia averaged 10 rebounds per game last year and will once again look to be the team’s top rebounder.
The other two senior captains, sisters Katie and Krissy Italiano, will also try to dominate the paint from the forward position. Krissy is the team’s leading returning scorer (eight points per game last year), while Katie is the emotional leader on the floor.
One thing is for sure, Schruender plans on using his three captains’ athleticism to the team’s advantage this year. Olivia was an NEC All-Star in soccer this year, while the Italiano sisters were both NEC All-Stars in field hockey.
“We have a lot of great athletes on this team, so speed will be our friend,” said Schruender. “We’re going to look to get out and run this year, and I think we’ll be solid with rebounding and defending. The key will be scoring the ball, and I think we have some players who can get the job done.”
Of course, there are plenty of challenges at the start of every new basketball season, namely bringing new players with little experience into the system.
“Obviously the biggest hurdle every year is getting your new players acclimated,” said Schruender. “I’m very confident in the girls we have, I know they’re all very good players. But the fact is, you can’t simulate experience. They just need to get minutes in real game action and get used to playing out there.”
The Sachems held their first practice of the year on Monday and they still have 12 days until their first game on the road against Salem on December 15. Schruender doesn’t want to set his sights too high for the season, so he just keeps it simple with a mantra you may have heard before.
“It might be a cliche, but we’re just trying to get better every day out there,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get each year, so the goals are to just work hard and improve every day. We’ll see what happens from there.”