By: Kyle Moylan
During the 2005-2006 season, the Allentown High School girls’ basketball team started a game of follow the leader.
Well, the leader is back for her second season. And Linda Weise knows where she wants to go this season.
"The goal is to get to the state tournament and get some banners for the gym," Weise said. "We’d like to win our division (the Patriot)."
While a win in the Patriot Division is certainly a possibility, the Colonial Valley Conference as a whole remains a big challenge. And the first big challenge comes 7 p.m. Friday night when Allentown starts the season with a game at Steinert.
"That’s a tough test in the first game," Weise said. "We just have to get better with each game and work hard."
With a 10-13 record last season, Allentown came a long way. And according to Weise, the progress didn’t stop when the season did.
"We had a good off-season," Weise said. "We worked out this off-season. I’m encouraged by the progress I’ve seen."
The big problem, of course, is the fact Jen Richard (5-foot-7 guard) and Jenna Winston (5-foot-9 guard/forward) are the only seniors on the team. Winston averaged six points a game last season.
While Allentown doesn’t have a lot of seniors, it does have a lot of varsity experience. Bea Pesciotta, for one, established herself as a freshman last year. Now a 5-foot-10 sophomore, Pesciotta is a forward that averaged eight rebounds and 10.8 points per game.
The juniors on the team are Brittany O’Brien (5-9 forward/guard), Isabella Taglieri (5-foot-8 guard), and Lexi Kirby (5-foot-7 guard).
Other members of this very young team are Haley Wilhelm (5-foot-11 forward), Angela Scibilia (5-foot-6 guard), Erica Hernandez (5-foot-6 guard) and Amanda Turowski (5-foot-5 guard).
"One real positive is the fact the girls look for each other on the court," Weise said. "We really share the basketball. I’m also encouraged by the outside shooting and post play."
Among the areas Weise would like to see improved are cutting down the number of turnovers and improving their shooting from the foul line.
Following Friday’s opener, Allentown will have a short wait for its second contest. Allentown will host Spotswood Saturday at 2 p.m. On Tuesday, Allentown will play at Robbinsville in a 7 p.m. start.
"We just want to work hard and get better," Weise said.
Follow the leader. She knows what’s she’s doing and where she’s going. She’s been there before.

