Last year’s Shore Conference A North Division girls basketball champions, the Howell High School Rebels, are rebuilding after graduating Sarah Olson (who is now playing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology), point guard Kaitlyn Schmid and Lauren Kolacki.
The main concern for Rebels’ coach Bill Gallacher this winter will be scoring.
Senior Shannon Pickett is the team’s three-point threat.
Pickett and fellow seniors Chelsea James, Christina Justiniano and Marina Lukianov are the holdovers from last year’s 21-4 team along with junior Kristen Bertinelli.
Lukianov is a forward and the other players are guards. Gallacher is starting two freshmen, guard Gabby Greene and forward/guard Reese Parr.
Forward/guard Alexandria Moreland rounds out the team’s starting five with James, Bertinelli, Greene and
Parr.
Tara Mircovich, a guard, and center/forward Amanda McClintock, who can provide rebounding, and forward Ashlee Trimble complete the Rebels’ squad.
Howell has a lot of guards and Gallacher is using those players to press opponents all over the court. The squad is off to a 1-2 start, but the Rebels have played very well on the defensive end in every game. What Howell needs is someone to step up and be a consistent double-figure scorer.