Apollo-Ridge girls basketball must adjust to playing up in classification

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 19, 2018 | 10:24 PM

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The Apollo-Ridge girls basketball players were road warriors last season with several long bus rides for section games.

That changed in the offseason when the Vikings decided to play up to Class 4A and received a section assignment with opponents closer to home base.

Jim Callipare, beginning his sixth year as Apollo-Ridge coach, said while the travel schedule is more favorable and welcomed, competition will be more than challenging.

“You probably have the best team in the state in North Catholic in our section, and Freeport has done a great job the past couple of years,” he said. “They have a new addition (Harley Holloway). They should be loaded. Knoch has a very good, young group, and Greensburg Salem and Indiana always do a nice job.”

With seven players with starting experience back from last year’s team that finished 11-13 overall and upset Charleroi in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, Callipare sees confidence building every day.

The successes included a sweep of playoff-bound Seton LaSalle and a home victory over section runner-up Avonworth that clinched the trip to the postseason.

“They always knew they could do it, but when they saw they could do it, it made all the difference in the world,” Callipare said. “We had some big road wins. They really bought into their success, and, hopefully, we can use that as a launching point for this season.”

The program had to say goodbye to graduate Megan Ost, a force in the paint for several years. She surpassed 1,000 career points last season.

The core of seven back on the court are seniors Marley Altman (guard), Maddie Moore (guard/forward) and Liz Penrose (guard); junior Rylee Eaton (guard/forward); and sophomores Emily Bonelli (guard), Morgan Gamble (guard) and Madison Marks (forward).

With only 11 players on the varsity roster, Callipare said everyone — including senior Abigail Held (guard/forward), juniors Cassie Booth (forward) and Kylee Wynn (guard) and sophomore Savanna Cricks (forward) — will play important roles in the overall success of the squad.

“We don’t have the numbers or depth that some of these bigger schools in our section have,” Callipare said. “I tell the girls that I have them starting at the bottom, and they have to earn everything. Hopefully, we can get up there in the mix.”

Moore and Penrose are in their fourth year as starters. They were considerable contributors to the 2015-16 squad that earned a victory over Frazier in the Class AA playoffs.

“Liz and Maddy have improved each year,” Callipare said. “They both are models of consistency on and off the court and are great leaders.”

Moore, a guard/forward, set season and career 3-point school records last year. She made 42 as a junior and heads into her senior season hoping to add to her total of 70 that surpassed the previous record of 68 owned by Hannah Shaffer from 2007-10.

“She’s so valuable and does so many different things for us,” Callipare said.

Moore also tallied 11.5 points a game last year, second only to Ost’s 16.3, and added 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

“We come into this season with a lot of motivation, and we believe in ourselves to make those big plays and get those big wins when we need them,” Moore said. “The new section will be a challenge for us, but it will be pretty fun, too.”

Penrose again will run the team at point guard. She averaged 5.5 points last year.

Callipare said the team has established several goals, including a trip to the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

The first goal, he said, is to win the season-opening Springdale Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 7 and 8. The Vikings open with Valley.

Ellwood City will face Springdale in the other first-round matchup.

Apollo-Ridge is the defending tournament champion, and it defeated Ellwood City in last year’s title game.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge