Lady Bulldogs hope to build off playoff experience
Mike Bashioum feels the play of the Beth-Center’s girls basketball team at the end of last season could lead to the beginning of something big this year.
Bashioum enters his third year as an assistant coach to Steve Beyer. Beyer was unavailable for comment for this story.
Last season, Beth-Center won its last four regular-season games, then defeated Avonworth in a WPIAL preliminary-round contest. The postseason win was Beth-Center’s first in three decades.
“That was huge,” Bashioum said. “We’ve been having a lot of success with the girls’ programs in general recently and we’re hopeful that just experiencing that success will help our winning becomes a habit.
“I’ve been here for three years and I’ve never saw the girls this excited to open (winter) practice. They have been craving coming to practice and they’re working hard.”
Beth-Center will have a mix of upper and underclassmen vying for playing time, as it tries to improve on last season’s 13-6 mark.
Senior Destinee Irey is 6-foot-1 and can line up at forward or center. Irey led B-C in rebounding last season.
“Destinee’s really developed over the summer,” Bashioum said. “She never had much of a jump shot but she’s been hitting more from mid-range. We’re more guard-oriented on offense, and Destinee does a really good job of attacking the boards.”
Junior Morgan Darney is a 5-11 forward and will be counted on, like Irey, to be a force on the boards.
A trio of sophomores is expected to see significant playing time. The group includes Kinlee Whited, Kennedy Kuhns and Mary Gustovich.
Whited is a 5-8 guard who will be looked at for offense. In the playoff victory over Avonworth, Whited scored 18 points.
“Kinlee’s a real slasher who attacks the rim,” Bashioum said. “We need her to step up and be a leader on offense and defense. Last year, she was probably our best defender. We would put her on the other team’s best player. She helps us in a lot of aspects.
“If we get into crunch time, she will probably be our go-to player.”
Gustavich is a 5-8 guard who did start a few games as a freshman. She can play either guard position.
“Mary has a great feel for the game, she sees the court really well,” Bashioum said. “She’s going to have to carry some of the scoring load for us.”
Kuhns is 5-9, and she can play guard or forward.
“Kennedy does a lot for us,” Bashioum said. “She can score from the outside or hit the boards and get a few put-back points here or there.”
A pair of freshmen guards — Frankie Pryor and Nicole White — also figure to see a lot of playing time.
“Both will contribute in a big way, especially on defense,” Bashioum said.
Beth-Center will compete in Section 4-AA, along with Bentworth, Carmichaels, Charleroi, Frazier, Washington and Waynesburg Central.
“Charleroi returns a lot of players from last season and Frazier is always very tough,” Bashioum said. “All the teams are well coached; anybody can come out on top. It should be interesting to see how things shape up.
“Our goals pretty much stay the same. First and foremost we want to make the playoffs. That’s the goal every season. Obviously, we’d like to build on last year and I think we can do that.”
Beth-Center opens play in the Freedom Tip-Off Tournament Dec. 4-5. The Lady Bulldogs will face Lincoln Park in their opener.
On Dec. 8 Beth-Center hosts Charleroi in its Section 4-AA opener.