2018-19 GSA girls basketball team. Courtesy of GSA
The 2018-19 George Stevens Academy girls basketball team includes, in front from left, Ellis Murnik, Silas Murnik, Evelyn Dagan, Vanessa Sherwood and Julianna Allen. In back are student assistants Ava Tapley and Hannah Emerton, assistant coach Richelle Kane Jaiden Dennison, Yulia Heggestad, Sophia Biggie-Jennings, Luna Perry-St.Peter, Mallory Charette, head coach Brandi Ensworth and assistant coach Mark Ensworth. Not pictured is Hannah Sherwood.
Blue Hill—With seasoned players returning and new faces added to the roster, the George Stevens Academy girls varsity basketball team is ready to open its season Friday against Deer Isle-Stonington. With a couple of scrimmages behind them, Coach Brandi Ensworth said she is still deciding who plays well and where.
“What I do know is that we have a lot of girls that can help us in a lot of different ways,” she said.
Returning seniors Julianna Allen, Mallory Charette and Yulia Heggestad are joined by junior Silas Murnik, sophomores Jaiden Dennison, Ellis Murnik and Hannah Sherwood and freshmen Evelyn Dagan, Luna St.Perry and Sophia Biggie-Jennings.
“Adding in young players who can make an immediate impact is a great benefit,” Ensworth said of the freshmen trio. “I am excited at what they can add to the experienced group that we return.”
Ensworth said her focus this season is on defense, and the team has bought into the defensive system she plans to use.
“We have a lot of speed and can push the floor,” she said. “We are focusing on making teams take shots they do not want to take.”
The team’s immediate goal is to push games to a high level of intensity, Ensworth said, with the long-term goal of a deep play-off run.
Last year, the team missed the playoffs by several berths, ending the season ranked 18th. Ensworth and her team are working towards a different outcome this year.
“We are young but we have a lot of grit,” she said.
Tip off for Friday’s game is 6 p.m. at George Stevens Academy.