High School Basketball Season Preview: Stone Bridge

As the winter sports season gets underway, Ashburn Patch sports previews the boys and girls varsity basketball teams at all three area schools. Today the focus is on Stone Bridge, with previews of Briar Woods and Broad Run coming the next two days. Check back for ongoing coverage of the local high school basketball scene all season long.

STONE BRIDGE

The Stone Bridge boys and girls varsity basketball teams are a study in contrasts as they head into the 2010 season. Depleted by transfers and graduation, the boy's team will start the season looking to build chemistry and establish a new identity, while the girls team will rely upon eight returning players to continue the strong push the squad made last season. Ashburn Patch sports sat down with boys coach Sonny Green and girls coach Chris Jones to discuss this season's Bulldog squads.  

 Girls Varsity Basketball

Coming off of a solid yet snow-shortened 2009 season, the Lady Bulldogs enter the 2010-2011 season with heightened expectations–and for good reason. The Bulldogs started last season strong, riding that quick start to a third place finish in the always competitive Liberty District and a trip to the regional playoffs. With eight players returning from last season–several of those emerging stars–the Bulldogs are already off to another quick start this year, posting a 4-0 record with dominating wins in all four contests. With so many players returning from last year's team, the players and coach have a good understanding of who they are as a team and what to expect from each other.   

"This is my third year here," said Jones, who earned Liberty District Coach of the Year honors last season. "First year was difficult trying to change everything, and last year we really got off to a good start ... ended up third in our district which was a big improvement for us. This year we just hope to build off of that, continue getting better. It's just been easier this year because they know what to expect ... system-wise, practice-wise, intensity-wise."  

This year's Bulldogs will play an aggressive, up-tempo game to utilize their speed and quickness. Once again undersized, the team may face some mismatches inside and on the boards, but hopes to offset those by creating favorable one-on-one matchups for their quicker players on offense.   

"One of our weaknesses is we don't have a lot of height," Jones said. "But we don't look at that as a disadvantage any more because it's been that way for us for three years now. We try to use it to our advantage now. On the offensive end, we try to make those people come out and try to play some our quicker players ... We want to play very aggressive, we want to dictate the tempo to other teams, when we can."  

Despite their overall lack of size, Jones believes his team's aggressiveness and toughness will allow the players to compete with other, bigger teams for rebounds.  

"I will say this group, even though we don't have a lot of height, they're going to battle on the boards, and I wouldn't be surprised if we led a lot of games in rebounding because I know the types of girls we have, they're very aggressive on the boards," Jones said.  

While the Bulldogs hope to rely on speed and quickness this year to dictate the tempo, Jones believes the key to the season may hinge on his team's ability to make plays in the half-court when the game does slow down.  

"The one thing I want to see is when you need to stop somebody at the end of the game, you can make that stop, and when you need to execute in the half-court set you can execute and get that basket," he explained. 

Last season: 11-7, third place in the Liberty District, lost to Westfield in the regional playoffs.  

Top players: Murrielle Tiernan, sophomore: Tiernan led the team in rebounds and was second in scoring as a freshmen. Tiernan hasn't slowed down this year, as she currently leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game. Nicole Prince, sophomore: Nicole Prince is the field general and point guard for this year's team, and she'll be relied upon to run the Bulldogs' high-speed offense. Cori Prince, senior: The older sister of Nicole, Cori set a Stone Bridge record with 33 three-pointers last season and garnered second team All-Liberty District honors. The softball shortstop standout has committed to play at George Mason next year will serve a vital role as an outside shooter. Kayleigh Guzek, senior: Guzek brings senior leadership and defensive toughness to an already formidable back-court.    Megan Della-Penna, freshman: Though just a freshmen, the 5-foot, 10-inch Della-Penna is quickly establishing herself as a needed inside presence for the Bulldogs. Della-Penna is third on the team in scoring this season, averaging nearly ten points per game.

Key losses: Sakai Williams: The Bulldogs will miss the leadership and contributions of Williams who was a third team All-Liberty District selection last year.  

Key Games: 

• Jan. 6 vs. South Lakes: South Lakes is always one of the toughest teams in the Liberty District and should be a good barometer for the Bulldogs' season.
• Jan. 14 at McLean: The Liberty District foe is always well coached and disciplined and may try to dictate a slower, half-court game against the Bulldogs.

Boys Varsity Basketball 

To put it lightly, the Stone Bridge varsity boys basketball team will have a new look this season. In addition to the loss of four senior starters to graduation, the Bulldogs suffered the loss of two highly talented returning players from last season, when Nik Brown and Jimmy Paige transferred to Middleburg Academy this past July. Brown, one of the area's top scorers as a junior last season, averaged 22.2 points per game and was named the Liberty District's Player of the Year. The Bulldogs also face the now annual ritual of waiting for players to join the team from the school's highly successful football program, that just completed its season this past Saturday. Head Coach Sonny Green knows his team will have to adapt to overcome such significant turnover.

"We have to look at it like every year we lose players to graduation," said Green. "Talent wise, they were very good players. What we have to do is make up for that with other things. We're not going to replace those players, what they brought to the table. What we have to replace it with is players getting each other open, helping each other when on the court get good shots, and hustle."   

Unlike last year's high-speed run and gun approach, Green hopes to slow the game down some and use the Bulldogs' inside play to open up shots for his perimeter players.   

"Last year we were up tempo, we led the Northern Region in scoring, and we were in the top ten in the state in scoring," Green said. "This year, I like our skills, but we're just not that same kind of team. We're going to be more methodical, try to run our offense a little more. We have more post players that bang down low. We're going to try to play a lot more inside out, try to get the ball outside and create mismatches there and maybe get some outside shots with our post play."  

Establishing that inside presence for the Bulldogs will likely be 6-foot, 5-inch Marcus Matthews and Jack Wohlfort. Green will rely upon returning three-year starter Ryan Lowdermilk, who just finished playing on the football team, to run the show from his point guard position. Lowdermilk will be by far the Bulldogs' most experienced player. 

Joining Lowdermilk in the back-court are the smooth shooting Danny Elezer and Mike Hamrick. Hamrick has already proven he's capable of scoring when called upon, dropping 23 points on Potomac Falls in the second game of the season.  

While many questions remain unanswered for this year's team, Green remains optimistic, largely because of the character he sees in his players.  

"We have a bunch of very good kids," he said. "They're good kids on the court, their good kids off the court, and they work hard. They're very coachable. I think we've made a lot of great strides so far and I hope that continues throughout the season. Our goal this year is to be playing our best ball come playoff time."  

Last season: 15-6 (10-2); Lost in district quarters in OT to McLean.  

Top players: Ryan Lowdermilk, senior: the three-year starter at point guard will be relied upon more then ever to bring stability and leadership to a team sorely in need of both. To be continued: The Bulldogs will be looking for several players to emerge this season as reliable contributors after the losses of Brown, Paige, and the graduating senior starters from last year.  

Key losses: Other than the aforementioned losses of Brown and Paige, the Bulldogs will also miss the scoring of Richie Berry. Berry, a first team All-Liberty district player, combined with Brown to form the area's most-prolific scoring duo.  

Key games: 

• Early season:  The schedule makers didn't show any mercy on the young Bulldogs, as they will play their first five games on the road this season. Losses came in the first two. 
• Jan. 3 vs. Langley: The Saxons enter the season on the heels of three straight Liberty District championships, and should be strong again this season.
• Jan. 6 at South Lakes: The always athletic Seahawks, led by returning all-district performer Joe Daye, will pose a stiff test for the Bulldogs.