Kallie Booth returns for Pittston Area this season.
Times Leader file photo
The 2021 Pittston Area Lady Patriots basketball team will have a distinctly different look from the team that competed in the 2019-20 season.
All five starters from last season graduated, leading to an entirely new lineup with sophomore Kallie Booth, the first player off the bench last season, joining a group of players with limited significant varsity experience.
Kathy Healey, who had coached the team for the past 11 seasons, has been replaced by Jeff Gregory, a former Mountain View and Mid Valley boys head coach, who spent last season as an assistant for the unbeaten Scranton Prep girls team.
With Gregory transforming the team into his own style, the Lady Patriots will be working toward switching from a primarily zone defensive team to one that he hopes will rely mostly on man-to-man defense.
On the offensive end, Booth will have a lot of responsibilities.
The team’s fourth-leading scorer as a freshman, Booth could be Pittston Area’s best option at both point guard and shooting guard. She will probably be called on to play both, depending which teammates join her on the court.
“We’re going to have to put a lot on her shoulders,” Gregory said.
Gregory, who viewed film of the team’s games from last season, only had six official practices with which to get familiar with the personnel making up this team. Those practices are on hold until at least Jan. 4 as part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re still kind of sorting it out,” Gregory said.
Amanda Fath, a 6-foot junior center, and senior guards Bernadette Lieback and Kendall Tigue are the most experienced of the other returnees. On a team where Fath is the only player taller than 5-foot-8, the 5-5 Lieback may also spend some time at forward.
Junior forward Ava Butcher, senior forward Jessica Zaladonis, senior guard Mia DeMarco and promising sophomore guard Ava Callahan are others who were part of a large varsity roster last season when the bench had a limited impact on a team that went 10-13 overall, including 5-9 to place seventh out of eight in Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Tiara George, a senior who is one of the leaders of the school’s volleyball team, has returned to the sport and could help in the backcourt.
“She has not played in a few years,” Gregory said. “She’s an athletic guard and a great kid. We’ll have to utilize her.”
The rest of the roster consists of juniors Leah Zambetti and Jiana Moran; sophomores Isabella Giardina, Taylor Baiera; and freshmen Rowen Lazevnick, Sabrina Fath and Jaiden Jadus.
“We would like to play more man-to-man defense and make that our primary defense,” Gregory said. “Being that is going to be such a big change and adjustment for the girls, we’re still building on that and we have a long way to go.
“ … It’s going to take a little time, but the sooner we’re able to do that and the better the progress is with that, I think that’s probably when we’ll become as competitive as we can be.”
