The article belong is sponsored on behalf of Neshaminy girls’ basketball by Yang Orthodontics. (Photos provided by Neshaminy girls’ basketball)
It’s been a long time since Megan Schafer played basketball for Neshaminy High School. Eight years to be exact, but she remembers it oh so well.
“I just loved the culture we had on that Neshaminy girls’ basketball team,” said Schafer, who was part of a Neshaminy squad that captured back-to-back SOL National Conference titles. “We all trusted each other, we all respected each other. It was just fun.”
Schafer’s comments aren’t necessarily significant until you put them in the context that basketball was her second sport. She was the 2014 PA Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year after leading the Redskins to a perfect 25-0 season and a PIAA state title, earning a scholarship to Penn State University where she excelled for the nationally ranked Nittany Lions.
Schafer certainly didn’t need to add playing basketball to her already impressive resume.
“People ask me all the time – why did you play basketball your last two years (of high school),” Schafer said. “Basketball wasn’t my first sport, and there were other girls whether they were going to play basketball or soccer – we still showed up.
“The best memories were just enjoying it with the girls and living in the moment. The bus rides were a ton of fun, winning the titles was great. When you generally were happy and you show up to practice to get better, I think I’ve really appreciated that. We weren’t even the best basketball players, we were just good athletes. We worked hard, and that’s what got us through. It was fun.”
Listening to Schafer tell it, basketball was fun, and it was all about being part of a culture that was established years before this year’s team took the court.
Joe Lally, whose fingerprints are all over the Neshaminy culture, took over the basketball program prior to the 2012-13 season. In his nine years at the helm, the Redskins won seven titles. Lally stepped down at the end of the 2020-21 season, and John Gallagher took over the helm.
At the team’s very first workout last summer, Gallagher introduced himself and his staff to the players, and the main topic of his introductory talk was – you guessed it - culture.
“How to maintain it, how to improve upon it and how important it is to our success,” Gallagher said. “We continually message this throughout the year and point out things that contribute or could take away from maintaining the necessary team culture.”
A unique journey
Taylor Gurysh is part of a junior class that has not had a typical journey with the basketball team. The two-year captain - whose journey has been especially unusual - arrived on the scene and was the lone freshman on a senior-laden varsity roster.
“Honestly, I was a little intimidated, but they all really helped me through it,” Gurysh said. “They were really welcoming. Everyone was so nice – the coaches were amazing.
“To get playing time with them was an honor because of how good they were. It was really fun, and it was cool when I started a playoff game because they were shorthanded – we had a couple of players hurt, and it was just eye-opening how hard you have to work to get those spots. They were all really good role models to me, and it made me feel comfortable. At first, I was a little scared, but the nerves quickly went away.”
Gurysh was part of a Neshaminy squad that rolled to a league title her freshman year but lost four key starters to graduation, setting the stage for a year of transition. In the blink of an eye, Gurysh went from a reserve role on the varsity to a key starter and captain on a very, very young team that had just one senior on its roster.
“It was definitely hard,” Gurysh said. “Considering the fact that we barely had any girls – we didn’t even have a jayvee team last year. We were very shorthanded.
“Practices were hard. We barely had any girls to run scrimmages, but we made it work. It was definitely challenging. We just had to play as a team with what we had, and I think we did a great job with it.”
For Gurysh, serving as a sophomore captain of a young squad put her in an unusual position.
“It was hard because I was captain over other girls who were older than me,” she said. “I felt kind of awkward at first in that position, but I knew what I had to do as a captain. My teammates were all just very nice.”
The Redskins finished second to Pennsbury in last winter’s COVID shortened season and advanced to the District One 6A Tournament. The transition continued for Gurysh and her classmates when Lally announced he was stepping down at the end of the season.
“When I first heard, I was devastated and just worried for who they were going to bring in because I didn’t know what coach would come,” Gurysh said. “Anyone could have taken the job.
“Obviously, (coach Joe) was a great coach, and it was going to be a huge loss, but when I saw that Gal was going to be our new coach – honestly, I was so relieved and excited for what was to come because I knew how great he was through our AAU program. It was sad seeing coach leave, but once I knew we had someone good coming in, I was relieved.”
A new era
Gurysh – one of six juniors on this year’s squad - admits she feels like a seasoned veteran on what is still a young squad and has just two seniors (Skylar Lall and Maya Lewis) on its roster.
“I do feel as though I’ve been here for so long,” she said. “It’s kind of weird to explain. Last year felt like two years because of COVID and everything.
“I’ve been having so much fun this year. At the start, it was a little bit tricky. We have a new coach, new girls, and obviously, it would be a little hard, but we just all really clicked – the coaches and the players, and we’ve been doing well. I’m so happy with how far we’ve come since the start of the season.”
Gurysh, according to Gallager, has been a key in making the transition a smooth one.
“She keeps me aware of the program’s nuances,” the Neshaminy coach said of a player who is asked to lead both on and off the court. “She’s leading the team in offensive rebounds, she plays point, post and has improved her 3-point shot from the beginning of the year.”
A 75 percent free throw shooter, Gurysh also excels off the court and is ranked 29th out of 675 students in her class with a weighted GPA of 4.36.
Jess Purdy, who is sidelined with an injury, connected on three crucial 3-pointers in Neshaminy’s upset of SOL Patriot Division champion Pennsbury. She was a fixture in the starting lineup after coming off the bench at the start of the season.
“Her sunny disposition and attentiveness to instruction makes her fun to coach,” Gallagher said.
Lindsay Little is another player who started the season as a reserve but worked her way into the starting lineup as she improved. She has been sidelined with an injury but is still third on the team in 3-point field goals made.
Anna Soska is one of the first players off the bench for Neshaminy.
“She adds length and athleticism to our team with her inside play,” said Gallagher.
Elle Norat contributes in a reserve role.
“She’s just a young lady every team needs to have,” Gallagher said. “She’s the team’s NBA insider with detailed insight into the 76ers.”
Mimi Smith has had a rougher road than most, sitting out her entire sophomore season due to a severe concussion she received during a preseason practice.
“It was very hard,” she said. “I was sad I couldn’t play with my teammates and be with them.”
Smith rejoined the team this past summer after Gallagher arrived.
“It’s been very good,” she said. “We’re like a family, we have each other’s backs always. We have grown a lot.
“We play hard every game. Lola (Ibarrondo) is new to our team, and she’s a big asset. We’re all close to each other.”
This winter, Smith has been battling a shoulder injury after starting the first 10 games of the season. She is fourth on the team in scoring and the team’s 3-point leader.
“She has played the post and shown the ability to step outside to shoot the 3s,” Gallagher said.
“All the girls in my class have been playing so well,” Gurysh said. “We’re all really close, and I love seeing them succeed. It’s nice to see.”
Neshaminy pride
Credit for Neshaminy’s consistent success can be attributed to a work ethic and, according to Schafer, a blue collar mentality.
“In college, that was one of our pillars that we were blue collar,” she said. “You could use that to describe the Neshaminy girls’ basketball program. We were hungry, and we didn’t care if we were the underdog, we just wanted to work hard. If we outworked the other team and they just beat us because they were better, we did what we could. We worked hard. That is really all you can ask for.
“Practice was fun because it was competitive. I can remember me and McKenna Mullin always going at it. She was good on offense, I was good on defense, and we were just helping each other out so much. Roles changed. We all were very open to what was better for the team. It didn’t matter whatever was better for the team. I think it comes down to the work ethic.”
If the young players on this year’s team need a reminder that they’re part of something special, they need only listen to Schafer.
“I was blessed – soccer basketball, you name it,” she said. “There was a core of us – we grew up playing together, and we were lucky enough to continue to play high school sports together and we trusted each other. That goes a long way. Other schools might be better at basketball, but once you have that chemistry with each other, there’s no beating that.
“People ask me all the time – do you miss soccer, but I actually miss basketball. I played intramural basketball at Penn State, but it’s not same as going to school - you’re in classes together and right after school every day. I just miss the connection I had with everyone. People are competitive and it can get nasty, but it was fun. We were just pushing people to be better. Yes, we would have a game plan and focus on our opponent, but at the end of the day, I think what we most remember are the bus rides, the pasta parties, Senior Night. All that stuff comes with it. The wins are a bonus.”
Schafer – without even trying – is an advertisement for Gallagher’s coaching philosophy:
“To direct energies into ensuring that the Neshaminy women’s basketball program is one that every grade school girl wants to become part of and then as grown women can look back upon with great pride.”
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