This season sounds like it will be a fun ride for players and fans of the 2016 MVRHS girls basketball team under first-year coach Sterling Bishop. Coach Bishop will work with a relatively untried group of players this season to follow up the nearly victorious 2015 campaign, in which a veteran 14-6 team went to the state tourney before bowing out in the second round.
While prognostication about this season is difficult due to so many new players, Coach Bishop knows how his squad will show up in games. “We’re playing an uptempo offense, and we’ll pressure the ball on defense,” he said. “We’ll be a well-conditioned team. We don’t have a ton of size, so we don’t want to slow things down. There will be pressure on defense and a lot of movement on offense.
“Our numbers are good, though. We had 17 players last year, and this year we have 27 players, including 17 freshmen. Amanda Bernard, who didn’t play last year, and co-captain Whitney Schroeder, are our only seniors. Molly deBettencourt, our other co-captain, is among seven returning juniors. We have excellent leadership skills in those kids,” he said.
Other returning juniors are Kiana Casey, Rose Engler, Sayra Guimaraes, Ashlee Moreis, Lily Pigott, and Meghan Sawyer, several of whom had significant regular-season minutes and exposure to tournament play last season.
“Sophie Estrella is our only sophomore,” Coach Bishop said. “We expect two freshman to get significant playing time: Sasha Lakis, a 6-foot-2 freshman, and 6-footer Delilah Quinones, who will be our anchors in the middle. Very young anchors, to be sure.”
Coach Bishop is upbeat about his team. “We have exciting new talent. And while everything is new — coaching staff, philosophy, and approach — the kids are eager to play ball, and we have strong parental support; that all creates an exciting environment,” he said.
The program also has a full complement at the JV level, led by sophomores Summer Cardoza, Mariah Donahue, Mataya Trusty, Jasselle Wildanger, and Eva Fernandez, with freshmen Emily Gazzaniga, Skyla Harthcock, Taylor Hughes, Jovanna Lowell-Bettencourt, Kya Maloney, baseball standout Emily Mello, Katherine O’Brien, Evanna Quinn, Tiana Rambonga, and Riley Yuhas making their debuts.
And judging by the early results of the feeder system, Tisbury, West Tisbury, and the Charter School are loaded with talent this season, so it’s likely Coach Bishop will be smiling for awhile.
The Vineyarders play their first four games at home, tipping off first against North Quincy on Dec. 9 at 4:30 pm at MVRHS.