Emma Coleman, the team’s leading scorer as a sophomore, highlights an experienced group as Abington Heights brings back five of its top seven girls basketball players from a year ago.
Coleman, a 5-foot-10 guard, is joined by 5-9 forward Lily Scoblick, the team’s only senior, and 5-11 Sarah Cantner as the returning starters. Coleman averaged nearly 14 points per game.
With 5-9 Sydney Pallman and 5-7 Abby Schneider moving up from top reserves to the starting lineup, coach Deanna Klingman is hoping for an improved team defensively.
“They are all much improved from last year; they played all spring and summer,” Klingman said. “We’re bigger than last year and, I think, defensively we’ll be better. We have better length this year.”
The Lady Comets slipped to fourth place in Lackawanna League Division 1 at 8-6 last season and finished 13-11 overall, missing out on a trip to the district finals at Mohegan Sun Arena for the first time.
Abington Heights will again prepare for the Division 1 schedule by testing itself with a difficult non-league schedule that includes tournaments at State College and Parkland and an appearance in the Electric City Shootout.
Bolstering the team’s depth will be junior Katie Kettel and sophomore Avery Brister, who each picked up a little varsity experience last season, and freshmen Lavin Vecerkauskas and Judy Riff.
“I think our chemistry is very good,” Klingman said. “I really like our interior passing.
“We had Maggie Coleman last year and Madeleine Walsh at the point. We do miss them, but I think the girls coming back have learned a lot and improved through the course of the offseason.”
