Riverview girls to rely on several sophomores, freshmen to contribute

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, December 1, 2017 | 6:33 PM

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It wasn't quite like the earthquake that hit Delaware on Thursday.

But the Riverview girls basketball program received a seismic shock when standout forward Ariel Rafferty decided not to play and cast her lot with volleyball, another sport in which she excels.

It hampers Riverview's chances to make it back to the WPIAL playoffs, but ninth-year coach Keith Stitt decided to take a page out of former Steelers coach Chuck Noll's book.

“I'll work with the players who are here and not worry about anyone who's not here,” Stitt said.

It isn't the youngest team Stitt has had. Five years ago, he started all underclassmen. Of the 16 players on the squad, 14 are sophomores and freshmen.

“The following year, we went all the way to the final four and the state tournament,” Stitt said. “After that, this is the youngest.”

Riverview will have just one senior, forward McKenzie Smail. While that means the 2018 senior night will be a short one, Smail is ready for a leadership role.

“I feel the freshmen had to step up a lot last year, and this year I think they'll be ready to do their part,” Smail said. “I was a co-captain last year. So I kind of have experience already, and I think I can show that to our younger girls and I know the expectations the coaches have for us.”

“She's developed into a pretty good high school player,” Stitt said of Smail. “She started last year and was sixth man, seventh man the year before. She's a good kid who works hard.

“We have some starters who can change from day-to-day, game-to-game,” Stitt added. “It'll depend on any number of things. We'll see what happens. There's certainly a lot of competition going on.”

Besides Smail, one player who will be relied on is sophomore point guard Sydney McDonough, though she was recovering from a foot injury in the preseason.

Alyssa Cappa got significant playing time last year as a freshman, and so did Annie Butler. Francesca Lio and Alivia Schulthies will be expected to contribute more.

“They're still somewhat inexperienced,” Stitt said. “We had a really good summer. We played up at the Freeport Summer League. We've just got to be better every day.”

Stitt praised the work of his assistant coaches, Jill Catanzaro and Hannah Larkin.

Riverview will start the season against Derry in the Jeannette tournament Friday.

Section 2-A is always rugged, with the WPIAL champion emerging from Riverview's section six of the past eight seasons.

“Vincentian's always good, and I've watched this Leechburg group grow up since grade school,” said Stitt, who has 105 career victories. “After that, we can be right in the mix. Our goal is always the playoffs. It would be a great experience for these young ones.”

“We've had some great games with Leechburg over the past four years, and this year we can give them a good game,” said Smail, who was accepted at Pace last week and will major in business. “Definitely, we know what to expect from teams in our section.”

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Riverview