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Western Wayne’s girls varsity basketball team is preparing to enter its second full season with Coach Colleen (Corrigan) Kloss at the controls.
Last winter, the Lady ‘Cats moved down to the Lackawanna League’s Division III and turned in a solid performance in Coach Kloss’ rookie season.
Western Wayne was just 7-15 overall, but the local lasses posted a respectable 6-8 record in divisional action. The Lady ‘Cats qualified for the District Two tournament, but were eliminated in the opening round by Valley View (55-42).
“I’m very excited about the season,” Coach Kloss told TWI Sports. “The girls worked really hard in the off-season and they know what we expect of them. I have extremely high hopes for the season.”
Western Wayne tips-off its exhibition season tonight with an away game at Coughlin.
Stay tuned to TWI Sports for complete coverage of the Lady ‘Cats basketball title quest.
Looking Back
Mountain View was the class of Division III last winter.
The Lady Eagles rolled to a 10-2 record in regular season action, outdistancing runner-up Montrose (10-4) by two games.
However, Forest City came out of nowhere to win the all-season championship. Hall of Fame Coach Carl Urbas’ team defeated the Eagles in a play-off for the first half championship, then claimed the second half title as well in yet another special play-off game.
Western Wayne carded a 3-4 record in each half.
The Lady ‘Cats signature win came early in the season, a 69-59 upset of previously unbeaten Carbondale Area. The Chargerettes were coming off a second consecutive title at the Hawley Rotary Tip-Off Tournament. Nevertheless, the Lady ‘Cats rallied to post an unforgettable victory.
Western Wayne placed four players in double digits that night. Emily Prussia (17 points), Courtney Kromko (18 pts), Sarah Wildenstein (14 pts) and Charlcie Brink (15 pts) helped the home team overcome an early 10-point deficit.
Two of those four girls will return this winter, giving Western Wayne a solid nucleus of battle-tested veterans.
Shannon Nolan, Amy Florentino and Stacy Skates also return to the Lady ‘Cat line-up. All three are seniors and each saw significant playing time on the varsity hardwood.
Looking Ahead
The Lady ‘Cats will duke it out with Mountain View, Forest City and Montrose for this season’s Division III crown.
“Our league looks like it will be pretty balanced,” said Coach Kloss. “I think those four teams are probably the ones to watch as of right now.”
Western Wayne’s girls varsity basketball team is preparing to enter its second full season with Coach Colleen (Corrigan) Kloss at the controls.
Last winter, the Lady ‘Cats moved down to the Lackawanna League’s Division III and turned in a solid performance in Coach Kloss’ rookie season.
Western Wayne was just 7-15 overall, but the local lasses posted a respectable 6-8 record in divisional action. The Lady ‘Cats qualified for the District Two tournament, but were eliminated in the opening round by Valley View (55-42).
“I’m very excited about the season,” Coach Kloss told TWI Sports. “The girls worked really hard in the off-season and they know what we expect of them. I have extremely high hopes for the season.”
Western Wayne tips-off its exhibition season tonight with an away game at Coughlin.
Stay tuned to TWI Sports for complete coverage of the Lady ‘Cats basketball title quest.
Looking Back
Mountain View was the class of Division III last winter.
The Lady Eagles rolled to a 10-2 record in regular season action, outdistancing runner-up Montrose (10-4) by two games.
However, Forest City came out of nowhere to win the all-season championship. Hall of Fame Coach Carl Urbas’ team defeated the Eagles in a play-off for the first half championship, then claimed the second half title as well in yet another special play-off game.
Western Wayne carded a 3-4 record in each half.
The Lady ‘Cats signature win came early in the season, a 69-59 upset of previously unbeaten Carbondale Area. The Chargerettes were coming off a second consecutive title at the Hawley Rotary Tip-Off Tournament. Nevertheless, the Lady ‘Cats rallied to post an unforgettable victory.
Western Wayne placed four players in double digits that night. Emily Prussia (17 points), Courtney Kromko (18 pts), Sarah Wildenstein (14 pts) and Charlcie Brink (15 pts) helped the home team overcome an early 10-point deficit.
Two of those four girls will return this winter, giving Western Wayne a solid nucleus of battle-tested veterans.
Shannon Nolan, Amy Florentino and Stacy Skates also return to the Lady ‘Cat line-up. All three are seniors and each saw significant playing time on the varsity hardwood.
Looking Ahead
The Lady ‘Cats will duke it out with Mountain View, Forest City and Montrose for this season’s Division III crown.
“Our league looks like it will be pretty balanced,” said Coach Kloss. “I think those four teams are probably the ones to watch as of right now.”
Prussia was lost to graduation and Wildenstein decided to focus on the indoor track & field season. However, the quartet of Brink, Kromko, Nolan and Kristine Nilsen still gives Western Wayne a leg-up in this winter’s Division III title chase.
“We have six girls back with tons of varsity experience,” said Coach Kloss. “It’s going to be interesting to see how all that ex-perience translates. I really believe in this group of girls.”
Brink and Kromko are both multi-sport stars who also excel in soccer and track. “Chuck” will most likely start at the point, while Courtney should be a formidable presence in the paint at one of the forward slots.
Florentino has been a pleasant surprise in the low post.Amy is another multi-sport athlete who patrols the Varden volleyball court for Coach Darren Thorpe’s squad.
“She’s doing a phenomenal job so far,” Coach Kloss said. “I think Amy is going to be one of our best on-court leaders. She’s a excellent rebounder and she has good basketball instincts.”
Skates lost a big chunk of her junior season to a nasty wrist injury. However, Stacy is back and should be 100% for the up-coming hoops campaign. She’ll most likely hold down the other guard spot.
On the Agenda
Western Wayne is scheduled to open its slate with another appearance in the Hawley Rotary Tip-Off Tournament.
That event is slated to begin next Friday afternoon at Wallenpaupack Area. The Lady ‘Cats will be competing against the likes of Honesdale, Carbondale Area and Paupack.
As a tune-up for the season, Western Wayne will travel to the Diamond City for a scrimmage with Coughlin. That contest will tip-off this afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
“If things go well, we might just see them again at districts,” said Coach Kloss. “I think it will be a good experience to play a team that we don’t know very much about. We’ll have to be ready for anything.”
The Lady ‘Cats will also be in action at the ‘09 edition of the Honesdale Area Jaycees Holiday Tournament. This marks the 50th year for the event, which begins December 28th.
