By: Sean Moylan
At first glance it would appear that the Northern Burlington County Regional High girls’ varsity basketball team may have too many question marks to make a return trip to the state tournament. But how can one pick against a team that’s returning three sensational players like senior Kylie Walton and juniors Katie Carty and Jill Asay?
When her shot is falling, Walton is a major threat from both the inside and the outside and she can play as either a guard or a forward equally well. For a tall girl, Asay has terrific quick moves to the basket and will be a valuable forward for the Greyhounds. Carty is a 6-foot-2 center with all the essential skills needed to be a star.
Last year Leo Mahon liked his team to run, but this season the Greyhounds girls’ varsity basketball head coach will have to teach a lot of newcomers his system.
Danielle Funk (a sophomore guard), Kristine Funk (a junior forward), Lauren Pigott (a freshman guard), Jess Kotelnicki (a freshman guard) and Shannon Dolan (a freshman forward) are all expected to see varsity action. Pigott, who is a very good athlete who is coming off a spectacular first season playing field hockey, looks like she can play nearly any and every sport well. And the other newcomers should fit in well too. But it may take some time.
"We’re still very inexperienced," noted Larry Young, Mahon’s assistant.
Still if NBC’s "Big Three" plays the way it is capable of playing, NBC could sneak into the playoffs just like it did last season when it finished the season 12-14, which wasn’t too bad considering all the changes made before and during the season.
NBC is scheduled to play at Rancocas Valley on Friday and at Pennsauken on Monday.
BRHS
One of Rob Shappell’s greatest strengths as a head coach is that he rarely concentrates or dwells on the negatives, only the positives. So when some "so-called experts" focused on the Bordentown Regional High girls’ varsity basketball team’s lack of size last season, Shappell focused on his team’s speed and turned speedsters Latoya Taylor, Taryn Lynch and Kara Lynch loose on the opposition while developing some strong center-forwards in Maryellen Gore, Stephanie Hazlett and Meghan McDonald.
Consequently, Bordentown used its speed and defense to make it to its second consecutive Group I Central Jersey Final game.
This year, with the graduation of three starters (Taylor, T. Lynch and Gore) and the move back up to Group II, the task of returning to the Central Jersey Group II finals appears to be more difficult than ever, but Shappell and his Scotties welcome the challenge.
"Losing them (Taylor, T. Lynch and Gore) hurts, but that’s how it is. The girls are enthusiastic. After back-to-back championship game appearances, the girls are really pumped. I don’t know how deep we’ll be because we’ll be a little on the young side," said Shappell. "But as long as we stay healthy, I think the system has proven that it works."
Last season Bordentown converted Kara Lynch into a point guard and it worked so well she was chosen as a second team all-star. This year, Lynch, a dazzling, tenacious junior defender, will run the show once again.
Junior shooting guard Sam Cobbs played AAU basketball over the summer and is better than ever.
"Sam Cobbs has big shoes to fill because she’s taking over Latoya’s (Taylor) spot. But she’s a pure basketball player," said Shappell, whose team graduated a 1,000 plus scorer in Taylor.
Hazlett, a junior center-forward, was a starter for much of last season, and is amazingly athletic.
"For being 6 foot 1, she’s very quick. She’s great with the putbacks," Shappell added.
McDonald, a senior center forward, started until she got sick toward the end of last season. Bordentown really missed her inside presence in the championship game.
"She’s (McDonald) as tough as nails. She’s my defensive stopper," remarked Shappell.
This year, the Scotties will also count more on senior Danielle Jenkins.
"She’s bloomed into a pretty good low post center," added Shappell of Jenkins.
Dana Jenkins, who is also a senior, will play as a guard. Standing 6 feet tall, senior Ashley Sammons is a thin, quick post player.
Shappell is also expecting sophomore Jessica Villalba to come in games and ignite the team with her quickness and strong defensive skills as a 2-guard.
Sierra Mendenhall is a freshman center, who is roughly 6 feet 2 inches tall. Mendenhall runs the floor very well and should see some quality minutes at the varsity level. Of course, Shappell could add a player or two before Friday’s opener, but the players mentioned should be the mainstays on the club.
Shappell has his volunteer assistants, Randi Temple and Emily Napolitano, back. But this season they are joined by Jeff Baptiste. Yolanda Ward is coaching the junior varsity team again while Bordentown Hall-of Famer Larry Carthan is back coaching the girls’ freshmen team.
"Our goal is we want to compete in every game," said Shappell, who want his team to look at the success of the past two seasons as something to shoot for and possibly surpass. "The third time is the charm!"
Bordentown begins its quest for a title tomorrow at Cinnaminson. Bordentown is scheduled to play at Willingboro on Monday.

