Rocky Point Girls Basketball Preps for Tough Season

The girls basketball team is heading into a difficult season with a young squad and just one senior player, after saying goodbye to two senior starters last year. After a 4-14 record last season, Coach Robert Kiernan said he doesn't expect many wins this year, and he only hopes the girls show consistent improvement over the season.

Head Coach: Robert Kiernan

Home Venue: Rocky Point High School Gymnasium

Record Last Year: 4-14

Key Players:

• Shannon Grodotzke (Senior Captain)

• Annie Kennedy (Ninth grader, starting point guard, team's leading scorer through first three games in 2010)

• Jessica Barber (Center)

• Amy Innes (Second year varsity player)

Key Losses:

The Eagles have to replace three seniors, two of which were starters - Hope Heiselman and Laurie Tobiassen - and what Kiernan called "the hub of the team." Heiselman is now playing at Suffolk County Community College.

"Those kids were very athletic," Kiernan said. "They were pretty good basketball players, very quick hands and pretty good speed. But it's very difficult to replace senior leadership."

New Additions:

Reagan Lynch joins the team and has gotten some heavy minutes early in the season. Dayna D'Aquila, also new this year, played in the first three games for the Eagles and scored 12 total points.

Expectations

After a 4-14 season and losing three seniors, Grodotzke, the lone senior, will have to lead by example and get the girls to play to their best capabilities in what will be another tough season for the Eagles. Kiernan said he's happy as long as he sees improvement in the team from now until the end of the season in February.

"Our expectations are, since we have so many young players, just for them to improve their basketball IQ," Kiernan said. "Get out there, play as a team, play really hard, and understand that varsity basketball is very difficult. Some of these girls should be on JV but we have so few girls that come out for the team that they have to learn on the job, so to speak."

Key Games

• vs. Harborfields (1/4)
• @ Miller Place (1/6)
• vs. Islip (1/11)
• vs. Eastport-South Manor (1/18)
• vs. Kings Park (1/28)

"It's a very tough league," Kiernan said of League V. "Kings Park and Harborfields are co-favorites. Islip, who was down at the bottom with us last year, has vastly improved. Sayville's always good and Miller Place is in our league this year, and they're very good."

The Final Word:

"They come to practice everyday and give me everything they've got," Kiernan said. "We're not going to win too many games, but as I mentioned earlier, if they come down, they compete, they play as a team and they realize how hard they have to work to get any success, then I would consider it a successful season. They're a great group of kids and I enjoy coming down for a couple hours every day with them."