Sanford

Assuming everyone’s healthy, this is the best starting five in the State. If there’s a weakness, it might be in the depth department. And all it would take is for a key starter or two to get hurt and the Lady Warriors would then have to slog it out to get to The Bob. If there are no roster injuries, Andrea Hines (junior), Amber Genwright (soph) and Naiesha Brown (junior) will rule the backcourt, another year older and another year wiser. Since Jasmine Gibson graduated out a couple of years ago, Sanford hasn’t really had a dominating post player. Something tells me, though, that that’s about to change. And it could be in the person of Anjaleace White, a 6’ 2” forward. The potential of White to add frontcourt balance to an already loaded lineup should only be icing on the cake for Sanford.

Ursuline

After graduating out three NCAA Division I players in 2008, not much was expected out of the Raiders last season. Yet, when March came, there was UA, back in their familiar surroundings at The Bob. After a very slow start, Ursuline rallied for a torrid last two-thirds of the season. And they accomplished what they did with a lot of young talent. True, they had senior standouts Brianna Collins and Kelley Doogan, but they weren’t “on” every night. Picking up the slack was nearly every other part of the roster – and those girls return this year. Ursuline, as a total program (counting JV), is a guard factory. There may be a half dozen point guards at UA that could start varsity at many rival schools. Out of this melee, look for junior Audra Cranston and senior Gab Perrotti to grab the most minutes. Challenging those two hard will be sophomore Lindsey Henzes, who doesn’t do anything with less than 100% effort. It could even be that two or even all three of these players could be on the floor at once in a 3-guard offensive scheme. Switching to the game in the paint. Prediction: Kelsey Miller is going to have one heck of a season. I see great things for her during the upcoming campaign. With help from near-6-footer, soph Jill Lyons, opponent defenses will be kept honest. I can see junior Caly Wendell also chipping in with the frontcourt, or anywhere else Coach Noonan needs her. I can’t neglect to mention that Lauren Baker and Meghan Carter – both of whom can play at least 4 positions – will be big contributors as well. Look for the Raiders to make a SERIOUS run at the title.

St. Mark’s

Looking for someone to have a breakout year? Then St. Mark’s is your team. Sophomore, Lindsey Nichols, is perched on the brink that separates good from great. Her build is a bit of a puzzle for her coaches. Where to use her? Personally? I’d love to see her as a 2-guard or at point. She’s got awesome speed and reflexes, and she positively hounds ball handlers when she’s on defense. But with her height, she might end up getting minutes here, there and everywhere. Regardless – she’ll contribute big time. Another breakout candidate? How about junior, Allison Zimny? Frankly, I thought it was going to come last year, but she never quite got the role that I thought she’d get. But skills like hers can’t be kept down forever. Very smart ballplayer. Plays “older” than she is. St. Mark’s is all about spreading out the wealth. So much so, that maybe a player like senior Annie Rivituso gets a little short-changed in terms of scoring opportunities. On a lot of teams, she’d be regularly knocking down 20 to 25 points per night. On St. Mark’s, she’ll have to be content with 15. Then there’s sophs, Kara Gallagher and Emma Grey. This year, alone, in AAU ball and summer league, I saw Kara hit more impossible shots than I could count. And no, I’m talking half-court shots or deep threes. I’m talking about the toughest shots of all – right from underneath, with 3 or 4 people all over her. Somehow, Kara threads the needle and finds just enough daylight. She also can work a reverse layup into heavy traffic as well. And, at 5’ 10” or 11”, Kara brings good size to the lineup. Emma Grey… Last season, Emma was chosen as DGB.com’s JV Player of the Year. While I’d like to see her play more off-season basketball and feel that this can help her game considerably, Emma should still make an impact, on varsity, this year. She’ll definitely be a guard, but just where she’ll be used the most has still yet to shake out. Of all the teams in the Top Five, the Lady Spartans are perhaps the toughest in terms of physicality. And that comes in awfully handy in February and March. So does a talented bench a mile long, and senior leadership from Marra Taylor, Amanda Farrell, Paige L’Italien, and Brianna Goodge. What’s more, there is a certain “St. Mark’s Swagger” that very few other teams can match. They’re the Dallas Cowboys of girls hoops. They know they’re good and they don’t mind projecting it. Look for the Spartans to go deep, deep, deep into the playoffs.

Smyrna

Now, I have to confess. I don’t know much about Smyrna. In fact, all I know is that they have Betnijah Laney and another girl over 6 foot tall (newcomer junior, Crystal Ross). But to me, that’s all I need to know. Betnijah holds the single game scoring record. She already has over 1,000 points and she hasn’t begun her junior season yet! She played on the 16U National Team this year in international competition and was a major factor. Think how good she’s been the last two years. Now imagine her coming into this year twice as good as she was last year. This could happen, folks, and it’s not gonna be pretty if you’re on a team (or the fan of a team) that gets in her way. Seventy points or more in a game, from Betnijah alone, might be a real possibility. Generally, I’m not hip on picking pre-season Top Five teams based on one player. But Betnijah Laney transcends all that. So, with no slight meant toward the rest of the team, as I am not familiar with them, I’m picking Smyrna to make it to the State Semi-Finals this coming season, largely on the strength of Laney alone.

Hodgson Vo-Tech

A year ago, I picked HVT to win it all. I just thought that all the pieces were in place and they looked ready. Well, it didn’t happen. After their elimination last March, I surely thought that the Silver Eagles were headed for a rebuilding phase this year and that they really wouldn’t be a factor. Too much was lost with the graduation of Sironda Chambers and Asha Jones. Flash to summer league, 2009. What’s this?!? Why, it seems that the Techsters acquired Jazmin Johnson (soph) for the 2009/2010 season. And, serving notice that all rumors to the effect that Hodgson wasn’t going to be competitive this year were lies, the Hodgsonians grabbed the top bracket summer league championship in August. So, guess what? Hodgson’s still very much alive and very much a team to be reckoned with. They have experienced leadership and legitimate height in 6’ 0” senior Tiffany Anderson. Adding amazing versatility from about three different positions is junior Alyssa Cuomo. Equally at home in the paint or on the arc, Cuomo can fill a lot of roles. The program also looks to incoming freshman, Charnae Dixon to make an immediate impact. I’m sure Coach Chris Jones is hoping that the summer league trophy will get a little company come March. If they stay healthy and focused, this team could end up cutting down the nets.

DelGirlsHoops@aol.com