The Freedom Bulldogs Girls Basketball Team began their season with a scrimmage against Union on Nov. 27, and will continue their regular season play until midway through February. The team is led by the three returning seniors: Shaye Bailey, Cassidy Harris and Morgan Keller. With the loss of a few key seniors, the team hopes that they will be able to make it as far as they did in years prior.
“Since we lost an important starter, we are still trying to figure out how to fill her spot and run our offense without her,” Bailey said. “I believe that we are on the right track to making it just as far as we did last season.”
Last year, the starting five consisted of senior Julia Morhbacher, juniors Bailey and Harris, along with sophomores Olivia Henderson and Riley Tokar. The team was unstoppable throughout the season, winning their first section title in 25 years. The team made it through the playoffs, making an appearance in the WPIAL championship game at the Peterson Event Center, where they fell short to Shenango with a score of 44-34. They continued their season into the state playoffs, but lost in the first round to Bishop McCort with a score of 64-58.
Starting out the season, varsity starters Bailey, Harris, Keller, Henderson and Brianne Casto are very optimistic about their upcoming games. Even though they had tough matchups in the preseason, ultimately losing every game in the annual Tip Off Tournament at Lincoln Park High School, yet the team’s spirits are still high. The teams that the Bulldogs faced at the tournament were divisions that rose four levels higher than theirs. If the five starters, along with a number of other varsity key players, work together as a team and help each other along the way, the team should be ready for success.
“We do not need to replace Morhbacher, we need two or three girls to step up and score the amount of points she did,” head coach John Kaercher said.
Several players have returned from injuries since last year, including Bailey and junior Annabelle Komlos. Bailey was out at the end of the season after having her collar bone broken in the last section game, causing her to need surgery. Komlos was out for a much longer time when she found out she had tore her ACL and Meniscus before the season had even begun, putting her athletic career on hold.
“I am very happy to be back! I am looking forward to getting back into my groove and playing with my girls again,” Komlos said.
Kaercher believes that the hardest matchups the Bulldogs will have to face in their section are Aliquippa and Rochester. Throughout the years, these teams have brought a number of decent players to the court. However, with the talent that the Bulldogs have, and with the underclassmen stepping up to fill the shoes left behind, the team should be able to push through the season and hopefully acquire another section title and playoff run.