Tamaqua girls out to build on successful season
The tone was set, not last season, but in the winter of 2022-2023, for the Tamaqua girls’ basketball team.
It was coming off a substandard campaign with just four wins.
Blue Raiders’ head coach Erika Davis is a fierce competitor who knows the game, and who can teach the game as good as any basketball coach in the tough Schuylkill League.
Davis put the pedal to the metal, and before last winter, her team was going to erase all the bad memories from that four-win season.
And it sure did impress last winter. These Blue Raiders were contending throughout the season, and nearly captured the league championship, on the way to upending favorite Minersville 48-42 in the league quarterfinals, but fell to the always dominate North Schuylkill in the league semifinals, 42-37.
Although Tamaqua lost in the first round of the District 11 Class 4A tournament to Northwestern Lehigh (42-28), the signs were all there for this coming season. Davis knew deep down, the team got better and better, and with a solid group of returnees, she is now anxiously awaiting her 10th season to unfold.
“Last season we exceeded our expectations,” said Davis. “Last season toward the end, we saw things that we didn’t expect. Getting to the Schuylkill League (playoffs) and upsetting Minersville and having a tough game against North Schuylkill and ending our season against Northwestern (Lehigh), obviously a great ball club.”
The Latin phrase “Alea iacta est” is very apropos here for Tamaqua – the dye was cast for 2024-2025.
The Blue Raiders wanted more than they got. Davis said her team was hungry, and four weeks after the season, they were bouncing the ball, training intently and determined to carry things over into this season.
“This is a very determined group, they are working very, very hard,” Davis said.
The bottom line, however, is finding the chemistry. Tamaqua has good numbers, and has a core of solid players who are seasoned and groomed for this campaign.
Several faces are at the forefront, such as guard Koble Robb, a slick, quick and heady player who is coming off a solid season and brings back her 6.15 points-per-game average into this winter. Lauren Ligenza, the surprise of last season, comes back for her sophomore year. She was the catalyst at times with her inside play, and at 5-10 she has grown as well. Ligenza sports a 10.08 ppg. average, and her ability to work inside and get key rebounds makes her a potential dominate force in the paint.
Kendle Miller, much like Ligenza, was a surprise performer a season ago. Miller can play just about any position; she can swing from the inside, hit the mid-range jumper and get key rebounds. Miller poured in 6.45 points a game during her sophomore season.
Samantha Plasha was another key to last winter’s run. Now a senior, Plasha knocked down 3.35 points per game, and was an important figure late in ball games with her defensive skills and quickness. And Davis points to 5-7 Leah Black, now a junior, whom she dubbed as the X-factor in regards to last season.
Davis is excited about what this team can bring to the fore, and points to depth as a strength.
“We can go five deep, whether it’s for a minute or several minutes,” said Davis, who emphasized the importance of fresh legs, and sticking to the game plan, when she calls on the bench to rest the starters.
Davis also wants the non-starters to play smart.
“We got a lot of extra games under our belts last season, and any time you get (those) games, it helps you develop players, in games that you can’t duplicate in practice,” she said.
Certainly, the mix of veterans and underclassmen is a positive for the Blue Raiders. Looming in the background is a freshman who Davis is expecting to be the X-factor in Millie Black. At 5-10, Black has athletic ability, said Davis, who noted it helps when a freshman can step on the floor and play right away. Also keep an eye on senior 5-6 guard Veronica Scott as a possible X-factor for the Raiders as this season moves forward.
The coach said this team has a strong basketball IQ, adding the squad does the little things that make a team better, especially in practices.
“We’re a hundred percent all bought in,” Davis smiled when asked about the strength of this group. “(We’re) very excited about the amount of time and effort and dedication that the girls have put in during the offseason. I know they are a very confident bunch, a great group and a lot of great leaders on this team.”
That in itself should reap the rewards as the team prepares to lay it all on the line this season.