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Megan Walters (above) and Lower Merion haven’t been to the district playoffs in 14 years. (Photo: Josh Verlin\/CoBL)<\/p>\n
The Aces are optimistic because they have a legitimate 1-2 punch in junior point guard Alexa Braslow and 6-foot senior center Megan Walters. Braslow was an honorable mention Central League performer, who averaged 9.5 points and 5.3 assists per game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She is currently playing girls soccer, but will be ready for the start of the season. Walters was also a Central League honorable mention as a junior and is expected to make her college decision within a few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a productive in and out game,\u201d Laney said. \u201cI know teams will be concerned about our inside presence. Megan knows she will get doubled and tripled. We have some serious sharpshooters this year that will drill the 3. Teams will have to adjust to what we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get to districts and to the Central League playoffs Lower Merion will need contributions from the entire team. This is what feels different around Lower Merion this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophomore Harper Gust looks primed to make a big contribution this season after being a defensive stopper last season. Another sophomore, Arry Glover, should also see some key minutes in the backcourt as well.<\/p>\n
The big surprise is the addition of freshman Natalia Kasmer, who not only can spell Braslow but push for significant minutes in the starting lineup. The cousin of Aces\u2019 senior standout Carson Kasmer, Natalia is a strong outside shooter who\u2019s looked varsity ready this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s certainly a collective energy to rebrand Lower Merion as a winning team,\u201d Laney said. \u201cThese six years have been a labor of love and a grind to get this program to a point where having an above .500 would be a standard and an expectation. The girls feel that too. School feels it. The fellow teams feel it too. They know this year will be a really good year for us. With Megan and the incoming class this is the year we turn the page to the present.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also seeing significant minutes possibly in the starting lineup is senior Allison Pham, who brings the defensive intensity to the squad. Another senior Sophia Mammo looks to provide offensive firepower off the bench and certainly plenty of leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we just want to win,\u201d Pham said. \u201cWe want it to make it to districts. We had a really good season last year. We have to step it up and get to districts this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get there the Aces will have to do better in the Central League. Last year they had as many wins with their non-league schedule as the Central League. In fact Lower Merion was a pretty successful 5-1 out of league. To truly step it up a notch Lower Merion will have to deal with Conestoga, Garnet Valley and Haverford just to name a few.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Central League is always competitive,\u201d Laney said. \u201cYou say, \u2018Thank goodness when seniors graduate. Then you see what they bring in and it\u2019s here we go again. Everyone seems to find talent. Talent is always rising in the Central; League. Garnet will be ridiculously talented. Conestoga will be good. Haverford has a lot of returning starters. They will be competitive. I see us up there this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lower Merion has not made the district playoffs since 2011. If they reach states, Laney admitted she would have to search the record books. To get where they want to go the Aces will need solid leadership and a defense-first mindset from the entire team.<\/p>\n
\u201cCentral League is one of hardest across the district,\u201d Pham said. \u201cWe have been considered underdogs and not the greatest team. If we come out and beat these teams it will kickstart us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Megan Walters (above) and Lower Merion haven’t been to the district playoffs in 14 years. (Photo: Josh Verlin\/CoBL)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186],"class_list":["post-181907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}