Panthers' First-Year Coach Hoping to Surprise

Even in the midst of Pikesville High School's blowout loss at the hands of Perry Hall Dec. 8, first-year Panthers coach Kelley Powell managed to focus on the positive with her young team.

Pikesville returned only four players from last season.

"I told the team that we can't live and die by one game," Powell said. "Things are going to get better. We're just starting and are going to improve by leaps and bounds. We're going to get 100 percent better. As we go through this season, we're going to start to click, start to make things happen and I think we're going to surprise some people."

And while the Panthers Girls Varsity Basketball Team's 0-2 start is less than ideal, Powell is no stranger to turning around struggling teams.

Powell, who spent 10 years at Patapsco High School in Baltimore before coming to Pikesville, coached volleyball, basketball and lacrosse for the Patriots.

While she coached volleyball for all 10 years at the school, she spent only two as the head coach for basketball and lacrosse. But even in that short time, it was impossible to ignore Powell's impact.

Prior to her taking over as the girls basketball team's head coach in 2008, the Patriots had been mired in a 23-game losing streak. The losing streak reached 28 under Powell before she managed to win 11 games during the next two seasons, including an upset win over Milford Mill in the first round of last year's Class 3A North playoffs.

Powell also improved the girls lacrosse team from 5-7 her first season to a 9-3 regular-season record in 2009-10.

Powell tries to use her experience as a teacher to bring out the best in her team.

A graduate of Loch Raven High School and Towson University, Powell had been a foreign language teacher at Patapsco since 2000 before taking on the responsibility of the World Language Department Chairman at Pikesville this year.

"The cornerstone of good coaching is getting kids to move forward," Powell said. "You always need to keep kids at a level of challenge where they have a reachable goal and let them know that you believe they're going to get there."

And like she did with the Patriots, Powell is confident she can get the Panthers girls basketball team to move forward.

Senior point guard Ronje' James has missed most of the first two games with a concussion, but will play a key role in the backcourt once she returns.

Pikesville actually held a 10-point lead against Kenwood in its first game Dec. 6 against Baltimore's Kenwood High School — a game played at Kenwood — but ultimately fell 41-37 after James was injured in the second quarter.

Fellow senior Alysha Davis, a versatile forward who can also play guard, provides the Panthers with a solid rebounder and scorer.

Forwards Brandy Tyler and Sameera Jordan will play key roles as well. Powell is expecting Jordan, a 6-foot-1 freshman, to progressively improve throughout the season while giving Pikesville a legitimate presence in the post.

"I think I have an outstanding team as far as athleticism goes," Powell said. "Only about one-third of them are experienced basketball players, but we're hoping to do some damage this season."

James expressed a similar optimism.

"Our goal is to get better each and every day," Davis said. "[Coach Powell] brings a lot of energy to us and I think she will do the same thing here that she did at Patapsco and maybe even more."

The Panthers' next game is at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, against Maryvale Preparatory School. It will be played at Maryvale, located in Brooklandville.

And they play Western STES at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15, at Western, located at 100 N. Kenwood Ave. in Baltimore. The Panthers Boys Varsity Basketball Team plays Western STES that same day, at 5 p.m.