Lady Falcons striving for return to playoffs
Three key returning players for Brownsville's girls basketball team are (from left) Kami Franks, Aubri Hogsett and Emma Seto.
Brownsville girls basketball coach Patty Columbia shouts encouragement during practice.
Brownsville junior Emma Seto drives to the basket during a practice drill.
Brownsville girls basketball seniors are (from left) Cassidy Lent, Kaitlyn Whitlock, Royona Lewis, Aubri Hogsett, Melanie Shumar and Amari Fowler.
BROWNSVILLE 鈥� Brownsville鈥檚 girls basketball team is coming off a winning season that included a playoff berth.
Sixth-year coach Patty Columbia would like to see a return trip to the postseason, but to do that the Lady Falcons will have to fill some huge holes left at the guard position with the graduation of Chloe Wright and Aniya Tarpley.
鈥淐hloe was one of our best defensive players, one of our best rebounders and our leader on the floor,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淪he was our communicator. She was the one who made sure everyone was in the right spots.
鈥淟osing her and our point guard Aniya Tarpley and her scoring, and also Sai Waqanivalu means we have some work to do.鈥�
Brownsville has two returning starters, senior Aubri Hogsett and junior Emma Seto, who will be counted on heavily.
鈥淭hey were two of our highest scorers last year,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淓mma is probably one of the premier players in the section. So we鈥檙e excited about having them back.鈥�
The new front court is still evolving.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e focusing on in practice is to replace those guards and get those girls up to speed,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still trying to sort it out. As it stands right now Kaitlyn Whitlock would probably start the season off running the point guard.鈥�
Sophomore Kami Franks looks to play a key role this season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting big things out of Kami,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 been doing a really good job. She鈥檚 a tremendous athlete. We look to replace some of Tarpley鈥檚 scoring with Kami. She鈥檚 a big girl who can handle the ball and shoot from the outside. She鈥檚 a softball star and goalkeeper for the soccer team. She鈥檚 a terrific athlete.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting seniors Melanie Shumar and Royona Lewis to see a lot of varsity playing time. Amari Fowler, another senior, played a lot last year but she鈥檚 going to be delayed in joining the team this year.鈥�
Columbia has two newcomers who could get on the floor.
鈥淲e have two freshmen who are doing good things in practice: Meghan Velosky and A鈥檢yia Dade,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to see how they progress.鈥�
Brownsville was 13-9 overall and 7-7 in Section 2-AAA last season, good enough for fourth place and a spot in the playoffs. The section has a few changes this year with Seton LaSalle and Beth-Center moving out and Bentworth moving in to join other holdovers Charleroi, McGuffey, South Park, Washington, and Waynesburg Central.
鈥淲e know South Park is going to be really good, and Charleroi always fields a competitive team,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲aynesburg is going to be tough with C.P. Miller. We think McGuffey will be well balanced and strong.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to go out there, play our best and hope that we can grab one of those playoff spots.鈥�
Columbia senses a carryover from last year鈥檚 run into the postseason.
鈥淚 think Aubri, Emma, Kami and Kaitlyn all played in those games so I think having that under our belts is going to help us,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have some kids who played in the playoffs coming back this year.鈥�
Franks鈥� soccer team also reached the playoffs in the fall and advanced to the quarterfinals.
鈥淜ami brings a strong energy to us, and the success that the soccer team has I definitely think carries over,鈥� said Columbia. 鈥淚 expect Kami to step up and be a leader, and Emma is already a leader. Our seniors are more quiet leaders.鈥�
The COVID-19 pandemic effected most high school teams this year and the Lady Falcons are no different.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 even have an offseason,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a summer league to play in. We weren鈥檛 able to get into our gymnasium due to COVID. It鈥檚 been tough on everybody. I just hope we can get this season in.鈥�
Columbia, who is assisted by Leanna Wright, has an established program, though, so players already know what to expect.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty smooth now and this is a really nice group of kids,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e fun to work with. They鈥檙e very hard-working girls. I鈥檓 really proud of them.鈥�