TROY – There were very few familiar faces from the last time Seaholm visited Troy High about 11 months ago when the two teams locked up for their lone meeting this season on Monday.
Those new faces were largely full of smiles after the Colts defeated the Maples 36-27 to improve to 3-0 on the year.
With Troy sophomore Maci Zeiter as the only returning starter back for either team, it’s unsurprising then that both teams went through some uneven stretches on Monday, and the Colts were the first to really labor offensively.
Seaholm senior Addy Kitzman scored all six of her points in the opening quarter, helping her team get out to an 8-0 start through the first three-and-a-half minutes. But after a layup by Troy senior Carly Higginbotham got the hosts on the board, the tables turned completely.
A pair of 3-pointers by the Colts (their only two of the game) helped them tie it at 10-10 by the end of the first quarter, and with a combination of their zone defense and some unforced errors, they held the Maples scoreless for the remainder of the first half to take an 11-point lead into the lockers.
“It’s just kind of a chaotic type of zone we’re running,” Troy head coach Laura Guzman said. “We have a lot of athletic kids, so I feel like if we can rotate and send everyone to rebound, it confuses a lot of teams. Fortunately, it worked out for us tonight. We were able to rebound, secure the ball, not give up the second and third chances, and I think that’s what helped us pull away in that first half.”
Junior Hazel Guffey ended that Seaholm drought that spanned beyond the second quarter with her second-chance layup 1:05 into the third, but at that point, Troy still had a double-digit advantage that felt considerably safe under the circumstances.
The Maples still trailed by 13 to start the fourth, but began to get into their offense better while simultaneously avoiding giving away the ball. That led to several triples by senior guard Erin Sheckell (13 points), including her last that got Seaholm to within five points with 5:35 left.
Seaholm sophomore forward Emma Droulliard shoots a 3-pointer in front of Troy’s bench in a 36-27 road defeat Monday to the Colts. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)
Neither team added to the score for over three minutes after that, but the Colts finally did with a steal and a baseline teardrop by sophomore Riley Courtney that made it 33-26 with two minutes remaining
After Seaholm sophomore Emma Droulliard split her free throws on the other end, Troy broke Seaholm’s press to get the ball up the floor. The Maples (1-2) began to aggressively trap the Colts later in the same possession as time ran under 1:15, but the 6-foot-1 Zeiter spotted senior Olivia Jasniewicz wide-open near the basket for a layup that essentially ended Seaholm’s comeback hopes.
Photo gallery of an OAA girls hoops crossover between Birmingham Seaholm and Troy
“It’s a fresh new 13 (players),” Maples head coach Chris Manchester said. “I knew in the summertime that we were going to be there defensively for the most part. Yeah, we need to figure out the ballhandling situation a little bit. I think we’re averaging 30 turnovers a game.
“With having a new group of girls and the experience level so low, the girls, they’re making the right plays at practice, and then they get into the game, they’re a little nervous, not making the right plays, the right reads. Hopefully, that’s what the beginning of the season is gonna be for us, figuring it out to get ready for league play, because that’s what this is all about.
“I’ve had two practices so far this season where I’ve had my whole team. There’s lots of volleyball and soccer going on, and vacations, so hopefully we’ll get the team together here during the break, try and work on some things.”
Meanwhile, Troy’s fresh identity shows promise early on. Diamond Prince, last year’s leading scorer, transferred out of state for her senior year, but Guzman believes it’s worked out for both parties.
One big reason for that is Zeiter, who had just seven points in Monday’s win, but already shows great promise and causes problems with her size and length.
“She’s like a unicorn,” Guzman said of Zeiter. “She has that long frame and does things that don’t always go in the scorebook. She gets deflections, has beautiful vision, finds her teammates. She’s learning how to finish, learning a mid-range (game), but she’s one of those rare breeds who can play in and out and kind of does it all for us. Her ceiling is so high.”
Another is Jasniewicz, who pairs well with the team’s 11 underclassmen. She played her sophomore year, then took last season off from hoops to focus on soccer — she’s been a big-time goal scorer for the Colts since she put on the shirt — and has returned to make an impact.
“Olivia asked if she could come back, and I’m the type that I support girls playing multiple sports,” Guzman said. “She’s already been a difference-maker for us. Her motor is endless. There’s no stop. You tell her to make an adjustment, she makes that adjustment.”
Said Jasniewicz, “I wanted to come back because of the team culture (as a sophomore), and also, I just love playing basketball. I missed it a lot. It’s also good because it’s a different type of conditioning. And I have really good friends on the team, and a really good coach.”
The time off allowed her to dedicate last winter to showcases, emailing for recruitment and working on her pitch skills, and it paid off in the form of a commitment to Division 2 Ashland University in early May.
But already, Jasniewicz is proving her scoring prowess is translating better than she expected. She finished with a team-high 20 points in a 60-36 victory over Bishop Foley on Dec. 12. “Sophomore year, I don’t think I ever scored double-digits,” she said. “I’m not a big shooter or anything. I think I have more potential than I thought I did.
“I’m just trying to do what’s best for the team. I wasn’t expecting to score that many points, but whether it’s rebounds or scoring points, (I’ll do it) if that’s the role I have to take … We’re still learning how to play with each other, but we’ve definitely been off to a good start, and we have a lot of potential.”
Seaholm, in the OAA White this season, travels to play Athens on Thursday. Meanwhile, Troy, still in the Blue Division, hits the road that night as well to play a crossover at Rochester.