Gaithersburg Girls Basketball Stays Humble In Spite of High Expectations

Perhaps no other girls basketball team in Montgomery County has a bigger target on its back than the squad from Gaithersburg High School.

"We've got a big target because everybody is telling us how good we are and what we did last year," said Gaithersburg head coach Adrian McDaniel, who enters his fourth year at the helm of the program.

The Lady Trojans fell to Arundel in the 4A state championship game last March but nearly every starter from that team returns including senior guard and Loyola (MD) signee Kara Marshall.

As a junior, Marshall helped lead the Lady Trojans to a 23-4 record, averaging nearly 14 points per game.

"Kara's my leader of my team," said McDaniel. "She's my point guard. We have a lot of people who can step up but she's a point guard, she's the captain. I'm looking for her to lead us as far as we can go."

Marshall enters her senior campaign seeking to capture the school's first state title in girls basketball. "We all pretty much have high expectations," she said. "I think the one thing that's going to stop us is if we become too cocky. We've just got to keep level-headed."

The four-year starter will be joined on the hardwood this season by classmate Sara Seipp and younger sister Colleen Marshall, a junior who also started last season. Octavia Scott also returns for her junior campaign.

McDaniel said he expects Colleen Marshall, who recently underwent ankle surgery, to return to the lineup in January.

The Lady Trojans also added a pair of transfer students in junior center Jacquilyn Jackson (Holy Cross) and senior forward Pauleesha Wood (Montrose Christian) who should provide a boost to the frontcourt.

During the 2005-2006 campaign, McDaniel was a part of the Gaithersburg coaching staff that guided the Lady Trojans to a runner-up finish in the 4A state championship game. He feels the team he has compiled this season could rival that team from a talent standpoint.

"This year we're deeper than we were when we went back in 2006," said McDaniel. "We have more guard play. We have more forwards and centers so we're all around this year."

McDaniel, who boasts a 56-19 record during his tenure at the school, has a simple motto that he likes to tell his players.

"Stay humble, let's take one game at a time and let's get better each and every game," he said. "Each time we step on the court for practice we want to get better. Each time we step on the court in a game we want to get better."