Wyoming Area’s Addison Gaylord drives to the hoop on a fast break against Holy Redeemer on Jan. 8, 2024.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
What Wyoming Area lacks in height and basketball experience, the Lady Warriors will try to overcome with athleticism and a history of success in other sports.
The combination of graduation losses, an injury and a decision to concentrate on another sport left Joe Chacke with just one returning starter, junior guard Addison Gaylord, for his first season as head coach.
Abby Sterba, the 2024-25 team scoring leader, suffered a torn ACL during the summer putting her entire season in jeopardy.
“Right now, we’re preparing as if she’s not going to play this year or will play very little at the end of the year,” Chacke said.
Shannon Kearns, the team leader in rebounds, assists and steals, has chosen to concentrate on field hockey.
With a guard-heavy roster and nobody taller than 5-foot-9, the Lady Warriors will have some obstacles to overcome.
“We’re going to try to be aggressive on defense,” Chacke said. “We’re going to rely on our athletic ability. I think we’re a very athletic group of kids and what we lack in basketball experience, a lot of the players on this team play on the field hockey team and soccer team, which are super successful programs at Wyoming Area. They know what it takes to win.
“They have that winning mentality. We have softball players. We have a little bit of everybody on the team so they’re going to bring that edge and that experience of what it takes to win championships.”
Jailynn Park, who was third on the team with 1.7 steals per game, is another returning guard who is also capable of playing some forward out of necessity in certain rotations.
“We’re going to try to do things that are not traditional,” Chacke said. “We’re not going to sit back to play defense on the tall girls. We’re going to do different things to try to force loose balls, create chaos and really rely on our athletic ability.”
Senior Abby Francis, the goalie on the championship soccer team, has joined the program and could move right into the starting lineup.
Senior forward Anna Kelleher and freshman guard/forward Londyn Sobeck are other strong candidates.
Sophomore guard Lyla Price, freshman guards Kinley Park and Briella DeLucca and freshman forward Sarah Jackson are all expected to make contributions off the bench. Kinley is Jailynn’s sister.
The Lady Warriors went 5-9 in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 and 7-16 overall last season.
