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THEPOSTPRESEASONGIRLS’BASKETBALLTOP20With last season’s records
RIVERDALE BAPTIST (22-8) LAST YEAR: 1 Gs Tyonna Williams (Temple), Lauren Chase (UMBC) and Diana Logan (Georgetown) will try to lead the indepen-
dent Crusaders to a third straight No. 1 finish.
2 3 4 5
ST. JOHN’S (26-7) LY: 6 Led by junior G Mooriah Rowser, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference runner-up is the only top-four finisher in the league
that returns its coach from last season.
SPALDING(23-6) LY:4 Fourth-team All-MetGMaggie Morrison (Vanderbilt), one of the Cavaliers’ four Division I commits, makes the team a power in the
Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland.
HOLY CROSS (19-9) LY: NR Former St. John’s Coach Eddie Simpson inherits a talented team that returns its top four scorers, including 6-foot G Akilah Bethel
(West Virginia).
OAKTON(24-2) LY:9 Second team All-MetGCaroline Coyer, along with twin sister Katherine, leads a veteran team that has reached three of the past four
Virginia AAA tournaments.
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COACHES’RANKINGS
Throughout the season, six of theWashington area’s top girls’ basketball coaches will post their Top 10 rankings on
AllMetSports.com. The coaches also will provide some insight into how they ranked the teams and which teams and players were most impressive. This is their consensus top five at the start of the season:
1. Riverdale Baptist (21-6 last season) “The deepest, most athletic team in the metropolitan area.”—Michael Strother (Gwynn Park)
2. St. John’s (26-7) “One of the best transition teams in the area, possibly on the East Coast.”—Tom Splaine (Good Counsel)
3. Spalding (23-6) “St. John’s, Spalding and Holy Cross looked athletic, talented and tough.”—Fred Priester (Oakton)
4. Holy Cross (19-9) 5. Oakton (24-2) 6For each coach’s full Top 10, visit
AllMetSports.com
The panel: Patti Gilmore (Blake), Mike McCarthy (Georgetown Visitation), Fred Priester (Oakton), Tom Splaine (Good Counsel), Michael Strother (Gwynn Park), Rebecca Tillett (Forest Park).
ALL-METWATCH With the season underway, it’s time to start thinking about basketball All-Mets. Here’s who we are watching: First team
Weeks on watch The skinny
G Akilah Bethel, Holy Cross, 6-0, Sr. G Taylor Brown, McNamara, 5-7, Sr. G Caroline Coyer, Oakton, 5-9, Jr. G Jessica Lyons, Largo, 5-3, Sr. G Maggie Morrison, Spalding, 5-8, Sr. Second team G Imani Bailey, Meade, 5-8, Jr. — — — — —
West Virginia signee and all-WCAC first-team selection was the Tartans’ second-leading scorer last season.
Georgetown recruit led her team in scoring (17.7 ppg) en route to earning All-Met honors last season.
Savvy scorer (16.7 ppg) and sharp passer guided her team to a second straight Virginia AAA tournament.
The Lions’ “engine” runs the point and is also a capable scorer (16.5 ppg last season).
Vanderbilt recruit, also a top soccer player, is a floor leader and well-rounded scorer (13.2 ppg).
Weeks on watch The skinny
— G-F Joy Caracciolo, Stonewall Jackson, 6-3, Sr. — G April Robinson, West Springfield, 5-8, Jr. — G Mooriah Rowser, St. John’s, 5-9, Jr. —
G Tyonna Williams, Riverdale Baptist, 5-6, Sr. — On the bubble
Averaged 16.9 ppg last season for the Mustangs, who advanced to the Maryland 3A East region final.
Boston College recruit averaged 20.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 3.2 spg and 2.2 bpg last season.
Multi-talented point guard can also score (14.6 ppg), ei- ther from the outside or off of drives.
First-team all-WCAC pick led the league runner-up Ca- dets in scoring, rebounding and steals.
Temple recruit will lead the area’s most well-traveled team, with trips to Florida, Arizona and elsewhere.
Front court: Logan Battle, West Springfield, Jr.; Zoe Beard-Fails, Georgetown Day, So.; Jephany Brown, H.D. Wood- son, Jr.; Audrey Dotson, Flint Hill, Sr.; Chizoba Ekedigwe, Pallotti, Sr.; Merritt Hempe, Stafford, Jr.; Diana Logan, River- dale Baptist, Jr.; Lanay Montgomery, Holy Cross, Jr.; Simone Sampson, Northwestern, Jr.; Dionna Scott, Freedom- South Riding, Sr.; Ruth Sherrill, Edison, Jr.; Alexis Smith, Calvert, So.; Necole Sterling, Stonewall Jackson, Sr.; Keyan- na Tate, Bowie, Sr. Back court: Gillian Abshire, Good Counsel, Sr.; Brittany Batts, Loudoun County, Sr.; Kate Gillespie, Georgetown Visi- tation, Jr.; Kaula Jacks, Huntingtown, Sr.; Linnel Macklin, Bowie, Sr.; Kara Marshall, Gaithersburg, Sr.; Tiffany Minor, Maret, Sr.
Varied symptoms can result from concussions
Boys, girls can have different manifestation from sports injuries
BY ALAN SIEGEL According to a study present-
ed Tuesday on Capitol Hill, boys and girls may present different types of symptoms after suffer- ing a sport-related concussion. Datacollectedfrom100Amer-
ican high schools during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years showedthatwhilerecuper- ation time is similar for both sexes, males reported more cog- nitive symptoms (feeling “slowed down” or “ina fog,” diffi- cultyconcentrating,difficultyre- membering) while females re- ported more neurobehavioral (sleeping more than usual, drowsiness, fatigue, nervous- ness) and somatic (headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, and balance problems) symptoms. R.Dawn Comstock, one of the
study’s authors, presented the findings at theNational Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Youth
SportsSafetySummitat theCan- non House Office Building. The study will be published in the January issue of the Journal of AthleticTraining. “We don’t know if these find-
ings represent a true biophysio- logical difference,” said Com- stock, an associate professor at theOhioStateUniversityCollege of Medicine. “Are girls really ex- periencing different symptoms? . . . Or is there a sociocultural component? Is it a lot harder for a footballplayerwho’s forgetting the plays to hide that from his coach than it for a girls’ basket- ball player to hide the fact that the band in the gym is causing real problems with noise sensi- tivity?” Comstock said, parents,
coaches, athletic trainers and physicians should be aware that a football player and a girls’ soc- cer playermay not present — or at least verbalize — concussion symptoms the sameway. According to the study, “With-
out adequate symptom assess- ment, theneurobehavioral or so- matic symptomsmore common- ly described by females may be more easilymissed or attributed to other conditions, such as
“You have to rely on these self-reports from student- athletes.”
—R. Dawn Comstock, associate professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine
stress depressionor anxiety” Athletes from nine sports —
football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ basketball, wres- tling, volleyball, baseball and softball — were represented in
thestudy.Morethan800concus- sions were reported (610 males, 202 females). “You have to rely onthese self-
reports fromstudent-athletes. A concussion’s not like a broken leg,wherewe can see a kid limp- ing andtake anX-ray,”Comstock said. “Girlsmay bemore willing to report some of these symp- toms that boys may try to hide. Orwemay still be a little protec- tive of girls inour
society.Coach- es, parents, may be more on the look out for symptoms ingirls.”
siegelalan@washpost.com
GOOD COUNSEL (18-10) LY: 19 The Falcons bring back four players who averaged 8.2 ppg or more and three Division I signees, including G Gillian Abshire
(Quinnipiac).
WEST SPRINGFIELD (25-3) LY: 11 Fourth-team All-Met G April Robinson and F Logan Battle give the Spartans, who advanced to the Virginia AAA semifi-
nals, one of the top junior duos in the area.
H.D.WOODSON(21-6) LY: 13 Four returning juniors, including F Jephany Brown and G Rahni Bell, com- bined for 27.5 ppg last season for the five-time
defending DCIAA champion.
GAITHERSBURG (23-4) LY: 7 The Trojans return most of the key components off their Maryland 4A runner-up team, although G Colleen Marshall is out
until January with an ankle injury. 10
FOREST PARK (16-6) LY: NR The Bruins, whose six losses were to teams with a com- bined 101-28 record, return four players who
each averaged 9.5 points or more. 11
STONEWALL JACKSON (19-4) LY: NR G-F Joy Caracciolo (Boston College) and G Necole Sterling (Indiana) could lead Raiders to a fourth
Virginia AAA berth in five years.
12 13 14 15
has adopted.
GWYNN PARK (21-3) LY: 17 C CairaWashing- ton leads a young team that made a surprising run to last season’s Maryland 2A final before
falling to Fallston.
GEORGETOWNVISITATION(22-5)LY:15 Four key seniors graduated, butGKateGillespie will lead the Cubs in pursuit of their fifth consecu-
tive Independent School League AA title.
LARGO (22-4) LY: 16 With second-team All-MetGJessica Lyons returning, Lionshopeto replicate, if not better, last season’s run to the
Maryland 3A semifinals.
MCNAMARA (19-11) LY: 12 All-Met G Taylor Brown (Georgetown) leads a team that should relish the 30-second shot clock that theWCAC
16 17 18 19
last season.
ARUNDEL(23-4)LY:5 Wildcatswontheir third Maryland 4A title since 2000 last season, but graduated their top four scorers, including
All-Met Sheronne Vails.
BOWIE (18-5) LY: NR Division I recruits G Linnel Macklin (Lafayette) and G-F Keyanna Tate (Delaware State) will power the Bulldogs,
whoadvanced to theMaryland4ASouth semifinals last season.
EDISON (22-2) LY: NR Eagles have high hopes to improve on last season’s Virginia AAA Northern Region semifinal finish with F Ruth
Sherrill. 20 F Simone Antwi.
SOUTH COUNTY (17-9) LY: NR Stallions, AAA Northern Region semifinalists last sea- son, are strong on defense and have 6-foot-2
MEADE (22-2) LY: NR G Imani Bailey leads an up-and-coming squad that fell to Maryland 4A champion Arundel in the 4A East region final
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
MORE BASKETBALL ONLINE: Check out area-wide preview capsules, plus schedules, rosters and scoring leaders.
Offseason upheaval has WCAC girls on the clock
Adoption of shot clock, bevy of new coaches has league in flux
BY PRESTONWILLIAMS The Washington Catholic Ath-
letic Conference trumpets itself as one of the top girls’ basketball leagues in the country, and with good reason given the success of its teams in high-profile tourna- ments and the number of Divi- sion I college players it produces. This season the WCAC bears
monitoring for other reasons. Three of its top four teams from last year have newcoaches—two unproven in the league and one a returning championship-win- ning coach — and one of the league’s struggling programs hired a coach who has won a WCAC and City Title boys’ cham- pionship. Thosecoachingchanges,oneof
which took place less than two weeks before the start of practice, rankled some players who chose their high school program based onadesire to play for the previous coach, resulting in unwanted “drama” at some schools, as one player put it. The turnover coin- cides with a major rules shift for the league, which after several years of debate, has implemented a 30-second shot clock. “I don’t know what else we
could do unless we changed the size of the basketball,” Elizabeth Seton Athletic Director Candy Cage joked when asked if any- thing else was different about the league this season other than the coaching changes and shot clock. The shot clock implementation
has been talked about for years. The more abrupt news in the WCAC involved the coaching de- partures, which in the higher- profile programs came about late in the basketball calendar, leav- ing players few options if they were considering changing pro- grams. Elizabeth Seton Coach Jazz
Perazic, who in her four years at the school had turned the Road- runners intoWCAC and City Title champions, left in late August to tend to business interests and since has landed asanassistant at Monmouth University (N.J.). To replace her, Seton, from its 38 applicants, hired Jonathan Scruggs, an assistant for the past three years at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. In a move that stunned many
around the 10-team conference, McNamara fired RodHairston on Oct.
1.McNamara had gone 19-11 last year, in Hairston’s first sea- son, and he previously had won five consecutive Maryland 4A ti- tles at Eleanor Roosevelt. To re- place Hairston, McNamara im- mediately elevated Gary Lee, a 1985alumnusofMcNamaraanda school-appointed assistant last year onHairston’s staff. Less than twoweeks before the
start of practice, Holy Cross fired Russell Davis and brought in WCAC veteran Eddie Simpson, who as a former co-head coach and head coach at St. John’s had helped the Cadets to a 213-51 mark. Davis’s teams atHoly Cross went 111-43, withWCAC and City Title championships in 2007 and an appearance in the league final in 2009. There also was movement at
the bottom of the conference. Bishop Ireton, which has lost 44 consecutive games againstWCAC competition, hired Derek Camp- bell, who won WCAC and City
MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
“Definitely, some teams haven’t been happy about these situations with their newcoaches,” Holy Cross junior Pandora Wilson said.
Title boys’ championships atMc- Namara in 1995. League runner-up St. John’s is
the only WCAC top-four regular season finisher from last year with the same coach. “It’s significant when the re-
turning champion [Elizabeth Seton] has a newcoach, probably the odds-on favorite team [Holy Cross] has a new coach and a regular contender [McNamara] has a newcoach,” St. John’s Coach Jonathan Scribner said. “Having been a newcoach three years ago, I know how hard it is to come in and see success right away. It’s just a difficult challenge.” Any coaching change can in-
volve adjustments, with different instructional styles and personal- ities trying to mesh with return- ing players who have to buy into the new coach’s philosophy. But the coachingmovesatMcNamara and Holy Cross were particularly jarring. Private school players of- ten choose a high school, much like a college, based on whom the coach
is.Transfer options are lim- ited when coaching changes are madeafter the school year begins, and WCAC transfer rules can mean having to sit out a season to change schools. “Definitely, some teams ha-
ven’tbeenhappyabout these situ- ations with their new coaches,” said Holy Cross junior forward Pandora Wilson, who transferred from Magruder into Holy Cross last year. “There was drama here just like atMcNamara. “For us, it was shocking. We
were all sad about it, but we came together as a team and said that we can’t let this break us down at this point now that it’s two weeks before the start of the season.We have to use it to build us up even though it’s hard.We have to play the game for us. . . . because it’s our future.” Those futures, for many, also
include collegiate playing careers that will involve a shot clock. EightWCACgirls thisseasonhave already have committed to Divi- sion I programs. Although the boys also will play by the clock, WCAC Commissioner Jim Leary said the most vigorous push for the clock was from the girls’ side. Organizers hope the change
could speed up the game, reward pressure defense and make for more dramatic finishes. Deficits in the final minutes will be more easy to overcome without need- ing to foul to try to force a change of possession, and the teams that best adapt to the shot clock could be the ones vying for the league championship comeMarch. “The game’s going to be much
faster and quicker,” said McNa- mara senior guard Taylor Brown, an All-Met who has committed to Georgetown. “Now when you’re up, you can’t hold the ball as long as you want. You need to score as well. It’s a very even game now.” Adopted in part to better pre-
pare WCAC players for college basketball (both the boys’ and girls’ Catholic league will have their possessions timed), the shot clock also could be used byWCAC schools as a recruiting tool to entice even more of the top area players. Maryland public schools use a shot clock for girls, but Virginia and the District do not. “Itmakes it a better game,” said
Cage, a former head women’s coach at Loyola and former assis- tantatGeorgiaTech,amongother schools. “We were sometimes at a disadvantage when we’d go play some of the public schools or play in other states [where] they were all using the shot clock.We try to say that our league is a premier high school athletic conference and yet we weren’t keeping up with the times and playing with the shot clock.”
williamsp@washpost.com
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