Hard work could pay dividends for NL girls

Northern Lehigh takes the court Friday in its season opener with one goal in mind.

Improvement.

“We look forward to a much more competitive season,” said Bulldog head coach Ken Shankweiler. “Getting better every practice is our only goal.”

The Lady Bulldogs have been practicing hard in the hopes of reversing some recent hard times the program has fallen on.

Last year’s 4-18 campaign was the most successful Northern Lehigh season since 2012, when Aimee Oertner led the Bulldogs before moving on to play Division I basketball at Army.

In the five years since Oertner graduated, the program has a total of just 12 wins.

But Shankweiler is counting on some veteran leadership to help reverse that trend.

Seniors Jill Olewine, Dani Hoffman, and Kate Ziegler will be asked to demonstrate what they have learned over the past three years.

Olewine, a three-year starter for the Bulldogs, along with the other two seniors, look to make their season a successful one.

Olewine and junior Jada Smith will handle the backcourt positions, forming what their coach considers, “one of the best guard tandems in the league.”

The focus of the two players is to be more aggressive on defense, hoping to effectuate more offense through that defensive pressure.

Shankweiler admits to entering every season with a confident and positive outlook, but he said that this group of girls is a special one which has him extremely excited for the season.

“We had a much better offseason than we’ve had in the past two years I’ve been here — and I really feel it shows,” said Shankweiler.

He explained that the girls really “get it” and work hard to show that their team will continue to improve with each game.

Shankweiler also said to expect some of the underclassmen to make a name for themselves.

He said Jada Saeger is one player in particular to watch for this year.

Shankweiler described Saeger as a player that can do everything.

Saeger saw playing time a year ago as a sophomore. She is expected to have an expanded role this season.

The junior has been guided by her father to succeed, as Shankweiler explained following early practices, he would take her to the community center to work on her game.

Whether it’s putting countless hours in the gym, or attending the boys open gym days, Shankweiler said that no one works harder.

“After the season last year, the two things I asked her to improve on were being unselfish with the ball, and on-ball defense. She has improved a great deal on both. She loves the game and wants to see this team succeed,” said Shankweiler.

Showing off the team’s depth, this year the Bulldogs will also offer an eight-player JV roster.

Freshmen Madison Seier, Riley Griffith, Hailey Evans, and Natalie Keller will all look to make an impact on the Bulldogs’ season as they gain some court experience.