Time is now for Charleroi
After three years of growing, the Charleroi girls basketball team knows this season is what it’s been shooting for since middle school.
Looking to build on a 19-6 record and a second-place finish in Section 2-AAA last season, the Cougars have continued to gain momentum year after year.
The last two seasons, Charleroi has made the postseason a priority, winning two first-round games. It also advanced to the PIAA tournament in 2017, where it lost to West Shamokin.
“We are experienced and coming off of a successful season,” said third-year head coach Kevin Lee. “Our expectations are to have a better season than last year and win the section. We have also won a playoff game the last two years but want to go further.”
But a talented group didn’t graduate for the Cougars. It rather just got another year of experience for what they hope to be a deeper run in the playoffs this season.
Returning four starters from a season ago, including four-year starters Kaitlyn Riley and Aislyn Lee, Charleroi’s lineup has a combined total of 14 years of experience.
Multi-positional Maria Claybaugh and forward Sierra Short are in their third year in the starting lineup. Short, who started as a freshman, missed her sophomore season with an injury.
Seniors Maggie Albert and Larissa Usher, along with sophomore Bella Skobel, are competing for the final spot.
“Maggie has started a handful of games the last few seasons,” Lee said. “Regardless of who it is, we will have continuity and expect big things for the team this season.”
Lee will need all the reinforcements he can get, as the undersized Cougars will be looking to push the pace. He also isn’t afraid of using five guards at a given time to do so.
“We have to stay healthy and play an up-tempo pace,” he said. “We know that we can’t overmatch opponents with size, so we have to use speed. If we get balanced scoring and can rebound, despite our size difference, it will help us out big time.”
To win the section, Charleroi will have to once again deal with last year’s champion East Allegheny, which returns star senior Amani Johnson.
“East Allegheny is the team to beat and everyone else should be better,” Lee said. “We have a bullseye on our back, but we are aiming for the section title.”