Putnam County girls eyeing up-tempo style after 7-10 season

Fans of the Putnam County girls basketball team might be a little surprised in what they see from the Panthers this winter — a smaller, more guard-oriented club that will get up and down the floor in a hurry.

With the bulk of their scoring and size gone from a year ago, coach Jared Sale’s squad will be abandoning the slower-paced, half-court style of recent years to fit their young, more backcourt-centered roster

Leading the Panthers’ returnees are two starters back from last season’s 7-10 club, 5-5 sophomore Erin Brooker and 5-7 sophomore Zofia Uzella. They are part of a large second-year class that may experience some growing pains at first, but is familiar with the up-tempo method from their time in the abbreviated JV schedule of last season.

“In the past, we were a little more front-court heavy,” said Sale. “We would walk the ball up the floor and try to pound it inside as much as we could using that high-low (offense), try to keep the game in the 30s, but this year it’s flipped, and we’ll rely on our guards a little more.

“After (senior Renae) Ramey, we’re going to be small, with no one else over 5-8, so we’re going to get out and try to run, do some different things this year than what we have in the past. That will be a tough transition for us ... but the younger girls are more familiar with that, so we’re a work in progress.”

Brooker and Uzella last season were both solid role players who were not counted on to do much scoring. The team had Caitlyn Cioni, Sophia Harris and Chloe Linton to do that, but they’re gone via graduation, taking about 80% of PC’s points with them.

While Uzella will remain a strong defender and rebounder, Brooker will be looked to for more scoring. Also counted on for points will be sophomore Eva Hatton, who was a Third Team All-Tri-County and a NewsTribune Honorable Mention selection after averaging 7.5 points as a freshman sixth man.

Juniors Gracie Ciucci and Mikenna Boyd, who saw a little bit of varsity time a year ago, will see much more time this year.

The wild card for this team might be Ramey. The Panthers will regain the services of the 5-11 senior center who tore her left ACL during her sophomore year, then in a freak accident while prepping for her junior season last fall injured her right ACL, causing her to miss all of the 2020-21 season.

She has remained with the team throughout and was cleared to play last week, so if she can shake off two years of rust and get back into the flow, she could remain with them now as a valuable contributor for PC in the post this season.

Sophomores competing for court time at guard will be Gabby Doyle, Sarah Johnson and Megan Wasilewski, while candidates at forward are Esmeralda Avila, Salina Breckenridge and Emma Henderson.

Key factors for Putnam County will be decision-making in the open court, knowing when to finish the break and when to set up, and the rebounding that will allow them to run. For such a height-challenged group, the hard work and fundamentals of boxing out and “doing what they have to do,” said Sale, to secure rebounds is imperative.

“I like where this junior and sophomore class is, and if we’re comfortable in what we’re doing by Christmas, I’ll be happy,” Sale said. “We might be a year away, but we’ll be competitive in a Tri-County Conference that looks to be, with all due respect, a wide-open race.

“We might take some lumps from good teams, but I’m confident we’ll be be competitive.”