Hampton girls basketball accelerates into new season

By: John Grupp
Saturday, December 6, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Hampton girls basketball team is going from being a blah to being a blur.

One year after having a plodding, low-scoring attack, the Talbots are turning up the pace with four returning starters.

“Last year, it felt like we did a lot of walking up the court,” coach Tony Howard said. “The style of play was not helpful to scoring points. We’re going to try to run and play fast and get more shots.”

The Talbots reached the WPIAL playoffs again last season — they have missed only twice in the past 33 years — but went quietly in a 65-14 first-round loss at No. 2 Oakland Catholic.

The lack of offense was a season-long issue. The Talbots (11-12), who were playing with five first-year starters, scored under 30 points in eight games and averaged 28.7 points in their final 11 games.

“We were kind of a one-trick pony with what we ran last year,” Howard said. “We’re really trying this year to get the girls to learn how to read and react and play basketball more than just be robots.”

With some promising freshmen joining returning starters Maria Nyilas, Harper Gibbons, Ellie Klocko and Katie Christy, Hampton now has the depth and experience to increase tempo on both sides of the ball.

“I think it’s definitely what this team needed,” said Christy, a 6-foot junior forward. “I feel like our change in tempo is the main thing that’s going to help us. We are definitely going to play faster. Our main point on offense is to move the ball up the court as fast as we can and catch the defense in a weak position. I feel like an overall fast-moving pace is what’s going to bring us a lot of success during the season.”

When the Talbots did score last season, it was with a balanced attack. Klocko, a junior point guard, Gibbons, a junior guard, and Christy each averaged about 8-9 points per game. Nyilas, a 5-foot-8 guard, is the lone returning senior on the roster.

Another senior, Erin Baker, who started at forward last season, left the team to focus on lacrosse, where she is an all-section defender.

Juniors Teresa Fritsch (G/F) and Clare Scholtz (G) also return, while the promising freshmen class includes guard/forward Brynn Rodgers, point guard Tess Martin and guard Jillian Alexander.

“We’re looking at using our athleticism to get up and down the court fast,” said Howard, in his 11th season. “We feel like we have eight to 10 kids who can play that style of basketball.”

Howard said rebounding will likely be the Talbots’ greatest strength, and they “want to become the best offensive rebounding team in the league.”

For sure, Howard was encouraged during the offseason. He estimated the team had roughly 50 meetings for weightlifting and open gym, and the top 7-8 players made “close to 40 or more” of those workouts.

Christy said last season’s growing pains will harden the Talbots for the 2025-26 season. Hampton plays in the all-Beaver County Section 2-4A, which includes Blackhawk, the 2025 WPIAL Class 4A runner-up, and Beaver, last season’s No. 3 seed.

“We have gained so much more confidence since last season,” Christy said. “Us being young last year is going to help us even more this year. It’s basically the same team, plus new freshmen. But our game experience last year is going to help us this year against the teams that are younger and just gaining that experience.”

The Talbots’ schedule includes a trip to the 15th annual Carolina Invitational on Dec. 27-30 in Charleston, S.C. Howard hopes the team will build on the self-confidence gained during the demanding preseason workouts.

“I still feel like we had some mindset challenges last year, where we kind of doubted ourselves,” he said. “We were afraid to make mistakes instead of just playing free. We’ve got to play free and loose and instinctive rather than reactionary. I’m hoping that stuff will help the offense generate some more.”

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