Ross Fernley isn’t letting a slow start detour his Eastside Catholic girls basketball team from its ultimate goal.
“We can still reach our goal, which is to make the playoffs,” said the second-year head coach. “That’s where we want to be.”
The Crusaders have dropped to 1-5 after the first two weeks. Two of those losses came to Cleveland and Holy Names — the two teams in the 3A state title game last year. In two other losses, the Crusaders held 10-point leads late, only to fall short in the final minutes.
“That’s going to be the thing for us this year,” Fernley said. “Last year it was about competing, this year it’s about learning how to win.”
Eastside Catholic has some great building blocks, starting with guard Michaela O’Rourke. The 5-foot-9 junior is averaging 11.4 points per game and also leads the team in assists and steals.
“She does everything I ask of her and carries a lot of the load for us,” Fernley said.
Sophomore Sarah Hill will also play a key role. At 6-foot-2, she presents an obstacle not many Metro teams have — a presence in the middle. Fernley said she has a huge impact in terms of rebounding and blocking shots, and should be even a larger factor on the offensive end this season.
“She can really score with both hands,” he said. “She’s really offensively talented.”
Senior guard Alex Johnston also returns important veteran leadership to the court, while juniors Shelby Newell and Shannon Graves add depth at the guard position.
Other players expected to help the Crusaders this year include senior Megan Drews, junior Danielle Leider, sophomores Lauren Johnson and Morgan Kramer, and freshmen Colleen Nuss, Emma Burnham and Ana Wu.
Fernley knows it won’t be an easy road in the Metro League, but he hopes extra training in the off-season will help the Crusaders get over the hump.
“We’ve got to really focus those middle teams and competing with those upper teams,” he said. “Maybe we can steal one from some of those state teams and end up going to the playoffs and get into districts. Those are our main goals.”
Eastside Catholic plays next at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 21 at non-league Mount Si.
