Winter Sports Preview: Girls’ Basketball

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What is your goal for the season? “I want to win our division and get as far as we can with our team.” Bianca Borda

Steven Anderson, Sports Editor

The girls’ basketball program here at Paint Branch is known for producing college athletes. Last year’s team was no exception, as it sent three players to the next level. Autumn Ashe, LIU-Brooklyn; Sofilia Ngwafang, LaSalle University; and Tatyana McClaney, Francis Marion University, led the Lady Panthers squad to a strong 18-6 season.

While the team must replace these three key members, they do think they can improve upon last year’s record and certainly hope to go on a longer post-season run as last year’s team fell in the first round of the state tournament. According to Coach Rochelle Coleman, this year, the team hopes to play together and push the tempo. After playing the last couple of years with a taller and larger team, this year’s group is back to what Coach Coleman sees as more of a “normal-sized team, with much more quickness than in years past.”

With six years at the helm of the varsity girls’ basketball team, Coach Coleman knows that it takes hard work and leadership to succeed as a group. Coach Coleman feels that this group can make a name for themselves. “We have a team that is ready to work hard and make their mark on the program; they are eager and excited for the season. Our goals are the same as every year: Win the consortium, our division, the region and the State,” says Coach Coleman. “This group will do their best to accomplish each one of their goals.”

Last year, the Panthers lost to Whitman, BCC, and Howard, but this year, the new-look Panthers will seek redemption against those teams. As for why fans should come out to see this year’s Lady Panthers, Coach Coleman simply states, “Come to the games and find out.”