The great Michael Jordan once said “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

The Tyrone Lady Eagles basketball team plans to live by Jordan’s words this season.  The one shot in particular that they can’t wait to take is for the 2015-2016 District VI AA title.

Returning seven letter winners and only losing two seniors from last year, only one of whom was a starter, the 2015-2016 Lady Eagles will come back strong with talent that goes well beyond the first five.

The girls put in a lot of off season work this year, playing together in leagues and spending extra time in the gym.

“I think we have worked really hard on our fundamentals and skills, now we just need to play basketball and execute what we’ve learned,” said coach Luke Rhoades, who is entering his 10th year as head coach of the Lady Eagles.

The offense will again feature junior Kasey Engle, the 2014-2015 Mountain League MVP, who averaged an impressive 22 points per game last season.  Engle broke several school records last season, including three pointers in a game and season.  Both she and Senior Finnley Christine are on track to reach the 1,000 point milestone this season, a feat not many high school basketball players achieve, let alone two players on the same team in the same year.

Of course, scoring is only a part of the picture.  Adding impressive rebounding numbers to the Lady Eagles’ stats,  junior Alexis Cannistraci and senior Marissa Sprankle average 6.5 and three rebounds per game respectively.  Christine also averages six rebounds per game and Engle four. Besides Cannistraci, it is safe to say the Lady Eagles post game is fairly young and lacks varsity level experience, but these girls have proven that they can perform as veteran players on the court.

In addition to their starters, the Lady Eagles have a deep bench that will see plenty of varsity time, including Madison Noll, Cherah Mountz, Sydney Shaw, and Payton Wagner.

“I’m really excited and hopeful about many of our younger girls this season. Sydney and Cherah provide strong outside scoring, and our posts are always battling no matter the situation,” said Christine.

If the Lady Eagles face any adversity at all, it will be playing to their full potential and remembering the hours they’ve put in improving their skills during the off season.

“We need to have confidence every single game. There is so much potential on this team, and if we can show off our top ability each night, I’m excited to see where this season takes us,” said Engle.

The Lady Eagles ended their season last year at 19-5 (13-1 in the Mountain League), losing to Westmont Hilltop in the consolation game to end their playoff run.  This year, they are hoping to go further and find themselves playing for the District 6 championship at St. Francis University.

“After winning the Mountain League three years in a row, we have our goals set a little higher this season, and I have no doubt that we can accomplish every one of them,” said Christine.

The girls begin their season at home this Saturday when they take on the Bedford Bisons at 6:00 pm in the Tyrone Area Middle School gymnasium.

Roster:

SENIORS:

Finnley Christine             Guard                              5’6″

Marissa Sprankle             Guard                              5’7″

Madison Noll                    Forward                          5’7″

Amber Gill                        Forward                           5’10”

JUNIORS:

Kasey Engle                     Guard                                5’7″

Alexis Cannistraci          Forward                            5’10”

Cherah Mountz               Guard                                5’5″

Bobbi Miller                     Guard                               5’5″

SOPHOMORES:

Payton Wagner              Forward                            5’8″

Emily Lehman               Forward                            5’8″

Tori Crabtree                  Guard                               5’2″

Erin McKenna                Guard                               5’2″

FRESHMEN:

Sydney Shaw                   Guard                              5’6″

Maqqel Kosoglow          Guard                               5’4″

Reilly Ronan                   Forward                           5’6″

Brooke Welsh                 Forward                           5’7″