J-M girls have sights on section title
Holly Tonini
Holly Tonini The Lady Rockets’ returning lettermen are (from left) Anna Mattish, Jamie Lawrence, Erin Confortini, Morgan Simkovic, Ally Bogden, Nicole Venick and Kayla Yorko
Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball head coach Chris Niemiec watches to make sure the team crosses the line before four seconds are up during a running drill at practice. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Holly Tonini
Members of the Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball team practice a drill as the others watch
Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball head coach Chris Niemiec
Jefferson-Morgan’s Ally Bogden makes a shot on a play during a practice at the high school. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Mackenzie Wright tosses a ball to Kayla Yorko during a passing drill at practice at Jefferson-Morgan. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
Nicole Venick makes a layup during practice. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
After a highly successful season last year, the Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball squad will look to continue its upward trend and have their sights set on a section title in 2015-16.
Second-year coach Chris Niemiec will have 17 players on his squad this year, headlined by six seniors.
The Lady Rockets started last year with 10 straight victories and finished with an overall record of 20-4. J-M finished second to California in Section 3-A with a 12-2 mark.
In the playoffs, the Lady Rockets captured the program’s first win in the first round in recent history with a triumph over Cornell.
J-M season came to an end with a quarterfinal loss to Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and a first-round consolation defeat to California. Three of the Lady Rockets’ four losses came against Cal.
“Obviously, we had a very good season last year and I like that xthe kids are bringing the right attitude into this season,” Niemiec stated. “It’s a new feeling for the girls, especially from a basketball perspective. I have to make sure I manage them from being complacent and continue to set higher, attainable goals. They are understanding that the target for every game is on them now.”
Niemiec expressed that one of the Lady Rockets’ goals this year is to win the section title, but still points to rival California as being the favorite within the section.
“I am very careful to consider us the favorite because we haven’t beaten Cal, regardless of who they lost (from a year ago),” he said. “They still have a good team and a good coach. There is an aura with them of being repeat section champs. We believe we have the talent to be considered contenders and the section title is our goal.”
Last year J-M had a stingy defense that allowed just 35 points per game, fourth-best in Class A. This season, the Lady Rockets will look for more offense to go along with a stout defense.
“We have to be more diverse on offense,” Niemiec said. “We really didn’t use the inside game as much as we could have last year. We settled for a lot of outside shots in key situations. Look for us to force a little more into the middle of defenses and force teams to guard us or foul us.”
The catalysts for the Lady Rockets this year will be senior guard Kayla Yorko (5-7) and forward Ally Bogden (5-9). Both are captains and three-year starters for J-M.
“They are both great leaders,” Niemiec said. “Kayla is more the emotional leader, while Ally is the physical leader. Kayla uses her shooting abilities to expand defenses and many coaches key on her because of that ability. She is a team-first player and very unselfish.
“Ally was a little forgotten last year. She is capable of carrying our team on both ends of the floor, but didn’t get enough touches in the offense last year. That’s my fault and we are going to run some offensive plays through her this year on the inside and outside.”
Other key contributors for J-M this year will be junior forward Erin Confortini (5-8), senior guard Nikki Venick (5-5), junior guard Jamie Lawrence (5-3), junior guard Anna Mattish (5-4), and senior forward Morgan Simkovic (5-10).
The Lady Rockets will open the ’15-16 campaign against Apollo Ridge at the Springdale Tournament on Dec. 4.
(See more photos with story on our website)