WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW: Eagle girls are about the ‘what’

A certain professional basketball team might say, “Trust the process.”

Uniontown head girls’ coach Dustin Miller says, it’s about the “what” more than the “why” when it comes to building the Eagles’ program.

“For me it has always been an ongoing lesson to concentrate on the ‘Why’ more than the ‘What,’” Miller says. “I am confident that ‘What’ we are doing here at Uniontown is best for the girls in our program. I challenge myself every year to do a better job of explaining to my players the reasoning behind why we do what we do.”

Last year’s team finished with a 3-8 record in Three Rivers League play and a 4-17 mark overall. However, there were several bright moments that Miller pointed out.

“Two things come to mind when I consider the best part of (last) season,” Miller says. “First, our wins over Oswego and Northeast. Those victories were not pretty, but the girls were determined to win and they would not be denied. Also, our ability to compete with (Sub-State runner-up) Pleasanton and Southeast. Both teams were clearly more skilled and more athletic but we forced them to go the distance with us.”

Miller has three returning starters this season, which begins Friday night with a home TRL game against Marmaton Valley. They are senior guard Makenzee Franklin (5’ 4”), senior forward Danielle Young (5’ 11”) and sophomore forward Karleigh Schoenberger (5’ 8”), who was an All-TRL Honorable Mention choice as a freshman. Other key players who return are guards Maddie Ard (5’ 7”, Sr.), Harlee Tinsley (5’ 5”, Sr.) and Sammie Hampton (5’ 6”, Soph.).

In addition those six, Miller expects transfer Breleigh Harris (5’ 4”, Jr.) from Girard and freshman Danielle Howard (5’ 8”) to make contributions this season. Players expected to move up from the junior varsity include juniors Sivanah McAnulty (5’ 6”) and Lauren Shinn (5’ 11”), sophomore Paige Mason (5’ 8”) and freshman Alie Fuhrman (5’ 3”).

Miller feels that his seniors are ready to lead the way but that some of his younger players may also be able to provide leadership.

“Some of (the seniors) have taken ownership of their preparation and the leadership of others in the offseason,” Miller said. “However, we have some freshmen and sophomores that have the potential to step up in a big way this year. The underclassmen have proved to be a very competitive group”

Miller also feels that his team is a close-knit group, which will be its main strength.

“Our team chemistry is a strength we have developed during the off season,” he said. “Over the summer we committed to summer league, individual camps, and team camps. Through those opportunities we determined to get better as individuals and as a team.”

Miller also looks to make his team better at ball handling, an area where the Eagles struggled last season.

“We need to take better care of the ball, get the ball to the scorer, and hit our free throws,” he noted. We lost a handful of games last season due to poor passes that led to uncontested lay-ups and free baskets left unclaimed when we needed them the most.

“With the off-season skill development of returning players and the skill set of our newcomers to the program I feel we will be able to address the areas of concern from the previous season.”

Miller sees St. Paul as the favorite to claim the Three Rivers League championship for the sixth consecutive season. He then feels that Yates Center, Southeast and Pleasanton are the next three in line with Uniontown in the middle of the pack.