Experienced Lady Falcons boosted by freshmen
Brownsville's starters and top players pose for a photo with coach Patty Columbia (standing far right). They are (kneeling, from left) Zhariah Reed, Meghan Velosky, (standing, from left) A'zyia Dade, Skyler Gates, Ava Clark, Kami Franks and Olivia McCracken.
Brownsville's seniors are (from left) Julianna Angeline, Kami Franks and Olivia McCracken.
Meghan Velosky attempts a layup during a fastbreak at a Brownsville practice.
A'zyia Dade dribbles the ball up court during a Brownsville practice.
Skyler Gates puts up a shot during a Brownsville practice.
Zhariah Reed blocks a shot during a Brownsville practice.
Brownsville coach Patty Columbia instructs her team during a practice drill.
BROWNSVILLE 鈥� Brownsville鈥檚 girls basketball team lost one starter to graduation but 1,000-point scorer Emma Seto played a huge role in the Lady Falcons鈥� success last season when they reached the WPIAL playoffs.
Patty Columbia does have plenty of experience coming back and a couple talented newcomers as she enters her eighth season as coach at Brownsville.
鈥淭here were times when Emma picked this team up and put it on her back and carried us,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淏ut these girls are up for the challenge. Our goal is to be competitive and make good things happen.
鈥淥ur four returning starters are A鈥檢yia Dade, Meghan Velosky, Olivia McCracken and Zhariah Reed. We also get Kami Franks back who we lost last year due to knee surgery so that鈥檚 big for us. We also have two freshmen who we feel are going to be immediate impact players.鈥�
Those two are Ava Clark and 6-foot-1 Skyler Gates.
Reed is the point guard and will counted on for some scoring punch as well as leadership.
鈥淥f the four returning starters, Zhariah, although she鈥檚 the youngest of that group, only a sophomore, does take a leadership role,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 definitely very committed to us having a good team and a good year and being able to be competitive. I appreciate that in her a lot.
鈥淎鈥檢yia and Meghan are guards. Velosky is a shooter. Kami and Olivia will play forward for us.鈥�
Franks鈥� return should help the team immensely, according to Columbia.
鈥淜ami has a very calming presence on the court and is probably one of the smartest players I鈥檝e coached in any sport,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淚 think she鈥檒l be our quarterback out there, letting everyone know where they need to be.
鈥淎鈥檢yia is our defensive leader. She does a tremendous job with that and we鈥檙e expecting good things out of her.鈥�
Clark and Gates will be part of the Lady Falcons鈥� seven-player rotation.
鈥淎va and Skyler both have a lot of talent,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting big things from them this year.
鈥淪kyler for the first time in a long time gives us a traditional center. She鈥檚 a tall girl who has a lot of skills. She can handle the ball and shoot from the outside. We just have to get her used to varsity competition.鈥�
Clark and Gates both scored double figures in Brownsville鈥檚 season-opening win over Bentworth at Falcon Fest on Dec. 2. Clark led the Lady Falcons with 11 points and Clark added 10 points as did Reed.
The Lady Falcons have participated in the WPIAL playoffs the last three years and won a first-round game in 2021.
鈥淭his group has a lot of good experience,鈥� said Columbia, who entered the season with a 17-player roster.
鈥淧ractice is going well. We only had nine girls last year, post-covid. We struggled to field a team. We had a couple girls that never played before. We do have 17 girls on the team this year which is really good. We have eight freshmen and four of them will dress varsity.鈥�
A fourth straight playoff appearance could be a challenge for the Lady Falcons who again will compete in slightly altered Section 4-AAA. Co-champions Waynesburg Central and South Park along with playoff qualifier Charleroi and McGuffey remain but Bentworth and Washington are gone, replaced by Yough which drops down from Class AAAA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be tough,鈥� Columbia said. 鈥淲e know we have our work cut out for us.鈥�
Leanna Wright returns as one of Columbia鈥檚 assistant coaches with Christina Clark also joining the staff.
Brownsville opens section play Jan. 2 at Yough.