Pleasant Vy. girls take on new challenges

When a key player graduates, opportunity comes knocking.

Last year, the Bears were led by Masani Francis last season, as she scored 9.9 points a game.

After Francis graduated in June, head coach Nadia Gauronsky realized she’d have a new team on her hands come the 2018-19 season.

“Last year, we were pretty set in who are top five, six and seven were,” Gauronsky said. “Upon her graduation, we kind of looked at the situation and said this is a new team. Even though we have a lot of experience back, we still have some growing pains and some things we have to work into varsity level play.”

The Bears were banged up toward the end of last season, finishing with a 12-9 record and reaching the District 11 quarterfinals. One advantage that came from the injuries, however, was that several returning players got added playing time.

Before Pleasant Valley begins the year, they scrimmaged Monday at Blue Mountain, and Gauronsky was able to learn more about her team.

“Our scrimmage went very, very well,” Gauronsky said. “The girls played really hard, and I was pleased with the effort that they put out. Practices have been going well in addition to that. The girls have taken ownership over the team, and they’ve really been working hard.”

As is usually the case early in the season, Gauronsky was happy with several things she saw from her team, but is also aware of areas that need improvement.

“There have been times where we have looked terrific, and there have been times where we are seeing some lapses, “Gauronsky said. “We’re stressing the importance of consistency from one game to the next.”

Gauronsky still hasn’t settled on a starting lineup or game-day rotation, but there are several returning players who figure to be in the mix.

Cameron Caffrey and Madison Rosenberg return, both of whom averaged just under eight points a game last season. The Wagner sisters, Alyssa and Riley, will also be counted on.

“We have a group of eight that can play at any moment,” Gauronsky said. “Right now, we’re still looking to see who our starting five is. We’re still seeing who’s competing for those top five spots, and we’re using these next couple of practices to kind of solidify in their head that any of the eight can be out there as a starter.

“So we need to push each other at practice and make practice competitive in order to see who’s going to get those five starting spots.”

Gauronsky also talked about defense and her girls learning the process.

“I think we need to become better defensively, running through passing lanes and challenging the basketball and not getting beat on one good, hard dribble,” Gauronsky said. “Allowing girls to have confidence is also big. They need to know that if they make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world, and realize they can grow from that mistake and get better every single game.”

Pleasant Valley opens its season Saturday at Delaware Valley. It’s the first step in what Gauronsky anticipates will be a challenging schedule.

“The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is always competitive, so we really hit a nucleus of teams that are very, very good in our crossover games. Plus, the Mountain Division has held its own, especially with Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain West both being good. “This is still a competitive and strong league, and we’ve got to come in ready to play every single night in order to be competitive and come out on top.”