Hampton girls basketball stays positive during tough start

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, December 20, 2018 | 8:09 PM

Though the Hampton girls basketball team is in unfamiliar territory, it is keeping up the positive vibes.

The team lost its first five games after losing 12 games the past three years. But it wasn’t unexpected with coach Tony Howard admittedly rebuilding with a young group while facing surefire WPIAL title contenders in its nonsection schedule.

“We’ve had good spells for lengths of times,” Howard said. “Which is a very good positive. We just need to focus on the details and consistency. Keeping control of the pace when those runs come up.”

Those three nonsection teams — Seneca Valley, Thomas Jefferson and Freeport — had a combined record of 14-3 as of publication time for this edition.

“A lot of these teams have had D-I and D-II players,” Howard said. “I think we can get overwhelmed at times. I’m pretty happy with us trying to be consistent and having good stretches.”

Trying to establish that consistency is sophomore Olivia Bianco, who recently moved from shooting guard to the point. Freshman guard Kayla Hoehler leads the team in points per game with 12.

The team is rotating four players down low and five in the backcourt, which makes for a deeper bench than last year.

“Nobody is afraid to get the ball or give the ball to anybody,” Bianco said. “I think that’s really good. Everybody is capable of getting playing time. I feel like we can do more than what we’re showing, but that will take time. We just need to find a rhythm and what works for us.”

Howard always has been a proponent of spreading the floor and playing fast with quick guards. He likes Bianco’s capabilities in that department.

“She gives us a lot of speed out there and allows us to spread some people out,” Howard said. “The thing about Liv is she doesn’t always score a lot of points, but she makes everyone else on the floor better.”

That’s the goal every night for a team that might be short on wins but understands where it’s at and where it needs to be.

“I think we just need to adapt,” Bianco said. “It’s a much different speed, and not a lot of us don’t have experience. We just need to find what works for us and go with the flow. Have a plan and stick to it.”

That plan includes gearing up for section play. The team lost its first section game to Armstrong, 46-42, after leading from the opening tip to late in the fourth quarter.

“Those first games, challenging as they were, got us ready for the first section game,” Howard said. “We didn’t close out, but they’re working hard, nose to the grindstone.

“Sometimes, you just have to go with it to get to it is what we say. Pretty soon, we’ll forget about these hard times and just be competing on a nightly basis.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

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