Lansdowne Girls Basketball Off to Undefeated Start
Despite coming off a five win campaign last season, Lansdowne girls basketball head coach Nick Welsh was confident his team would have a strong start this year. Combining a favorable schedule with a much improved team meant the Baltimore County School had a chance to get their season on track early.
Lansdowne has come through, starting the season 4-0. The start has put the Vikings at just one win shy of their total from last season.
"I really stressed to the girls that we needed to come out aggressive to set the tone for the season," Welsh said. "The girls responded and have done a wonderful job of exceeding my expectations."
Two seniors, Kamya Renwicks and Demi Hartman, have been the the two tone setters for the Vikings so far. Renwicks in particular has gotten off to a strong start, averaging close to 19 points, five assists and six steals per game.
Lansdowne has also received excellent performances from underclassmen. Sophomores Asia Smith and Courtney Austin have been asked to step into large roles this season and haven't backed down from the challenge. Smith is the team's second leading scorer with 10 points per game. Austin has been a big asset on defense, recording 5.8 steals per game. Shayla Hugel is another performer of note, averaging nine points and seven rebounds a game.
"We try to play a high intensity, high tempo game this year," said Welsh. "We really try and get out and apply defensive pressure on the other team."
The team's aggressive style has been paying dividends. The Vikings are averaging a whopping 21 steals per game, while on the offensive end the team is doing an excellent job of playing team-first basketball.
"Our team's average assists have doubled from last season's average," said Welsh. "We are doing a really good job of converting off of the steals we've been getting and executing our half court offense."
As well as the team has been doing, Welsh knows that the team's next game will be its toughest yet. Lansdowne travels to Harford County's Patterson Mill, which has won two straight MPSSAA 2A state championships, tomorrow at 3:45 PM.
Patterson Mill is off to a 2-2 start this season, but the game still promises be a stern test for Lansdowne. That being said, Welsh is making sure his team doesn't view this game as a do-or-die contest, and to still be excited about what they have accomplished so far.
"It will be a good indicator of how we stack up against established basketball programs. They've had a lot of success over the past two years and it will allow us to find out how we're doing," Welsh said. "It's not a make or break game for us, so we are just going to go out and compete."
Lansdowne has come through, starting the season 4-0. The start has put the Vikings at just one win shy of their total from last season.
"I really stressed to the girls that we needed to come out aggressive to set the tone for the season," Welsh said. "The girls responded and have done a wonderful job of exceeding my expectations."
Two seniors, Kamya Renwicks and Demi Hartman, have been the the two tone setters for the Vikings so far. Renwicks in particular has gotten off to a strong start, averaging close to 19 points, five assists and six steals per game.
Lansdowne has also received excellent performances from underclassmen. Sophomores Asia Smith and Courtney Austin have been asked to step into large roles this season and haven't backed down from the challenge. Smith is the team's second leading scorer with 10 points per game. Austin has been a big asset on defense, recording 5.8 steals per game. Shayla Hugel is another performer of note, averaging nine points and seven rebounds a game.
"We try to play a high intensity, high tempo game this year," said Welsh. "We really try and get out and apply defensive pressure on the other team."
The team's aggressive style has been paying dividends. The Vikings are averaging a whopping 21 steals per game, while on the offensive end the team is doing an excellent job of playing team-first basketball.
"Our team's average assists have doubled from last season's average," said Welsh. "We are doing a really good job of converting off of the steals we've been getting and executing our half court offense."
As well as the team has been doing, Welsh knows that the team's next game will be its toughest yet. Lansdowne travels to Harford County's Patterson Mill, which has won two straight MPSSAA 2A state championships, tomorrow at 3:45 PM.
Patterson Mill is off to a 2-2 start this season, but the game still promises be a stern test for Lansdowne. That being said, Welsh is making sure his team doesn't view this game as a do-or-die contest, and to still be excited about what they have accomplished so far.
"It will be a good indicator of how we stack up against established basketball programs. They've had a lot of success over the past two years and it will allow us to find out how we're doing," Welsh said. "It's not a make or break game for us, so we are just going to go out and compete."
| December 16th, 2015 | By: Wick Eisenberg |