Helena Gemmell enjoys doing ‘the dirty work.’ Teammate Alyssa Dumont revels in her role as a pick-me-up off the bench.
Gemmell and Dumont are just two pieces of a Council Rock North basketball squad that has sprinted out of the gate to a dazzling 10-0 mark. Talk to either Gemmell or Dumont, and they echo a similar sentiment – this year’s team is just that - a team in the truest sense of the word.
“Everyone is really supportive of each other,” Dumont said. “Whenever someone is down or not having the best game, everyone is there to pick them up.
“We just really work well as a unit. We have good communication, and we all just fit together really well – even on and off the court.”
“Everyone is stepping up – even the players off the bench, which has been really big for us,” Gemmell added.
To the outsider, it might be easy to simply attribute the Indians’ impressive start to the efforts of sisters Devin and Lauren Gold, both of whom have been catalysts on both ends of the court, but that would be shortchanging the role an outstanding supporting cast has played in the Indians’ success.
“You see the two Golds, but unless you have the kind of kids that can not only support them but explode at any time – it makes it tougher for teams to prepare for you,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “It’s tough to go deep in the playoffs with six players. Now I know I can go seven.”
Teams have certainly been unprepared for an Indian squad that once again features the kind of pressure defense that breaks teams into submission.
“All of our guards – Lauren, Devin and Megan (Cunningham) – are all over the other team’s guards, and they can’t even get the ball into the post,” Gemmell said. “The guards do so much work up top – it’s awesome.”
Each player has their own role, and each player has been filling that role to perfection. In Saturday’s impressive 55-40 win over a Sanford squad ranked second in the State of Delaware, Gemmell had eight points, seven rebounds and six steals.
“Helena brings an athleticism that actually we haven’t had in a while,” Palkovics said. “She can jump, she can play a big girl, she can play a guard, she’s super quick, and she can create her own jump shot with an Allen Iverson crossover.
“She does every little thing on the court. She’s the first one on the floor, she plays good help ‘D’ and allows me to do a lot of different things on defense. On offense, it’s nice to have someone who can create her own shot when she needs to.”
Talk to Gemmell, and she’s just as happy pulling down a rebound as putting points on the board.
“I get the rebounds and kick the ball to Lauren so we can run the court,” she said. “A lot of teams can’t run with us.”
If there were a ‘sixth man’ award, Dumont would be a no-brainer choice. In Saturday’s win over Sanford, Dumont had 10 points during a pivotal first-half stretch.
Earlier this season when the Indians were minus a pair of starters against Abington, Dumont stepped into a starting role and scored 16 points.
“She’s one of those pure scorers – she’s instant offense when she comes off the bench,” Palkovics said. “She’s six foot, but she has such long arms. She’s quick enough - she played guard all of her life, and she can play off them a little bit because her arms are so long.
“I would venture to say she leads the team in blocked shots. She can step out and shoot the three. It’s nice to have a girl who can play a guard spot, but because she has such long arms and is so tall, I can play her at different places.”
Dumont has a simple goal when she comes off the bench.
“I just have to try and jump into the flow of the game and work my hardest on defense, take my time and set up my shot and just help my team out when we’re looking for a pick-me-up,” she said.
Junior Megan Cunningham is part of a backcourt that routinely makes life miserable for opponents.
“All the girls worked hard in the offseason, but Megan has come back – every drill at practice she does so hard,” Palkovics said. “She can shoot off the dribble. We run a lot of pick and rolls, and she’s capable of coming off the pick-and-roll and shooting up over somebody.
“Everybody looks at all the steals the Golds have, but Megan makes them go too. It’s nice to have three guards in there, and Megan – who is strong and physical inside - gives me the flexibility because she’s 5-10 and can go underneath. Defensively, every game I can put her on the best player – I do.”
Few players have had a bigger impact this season than junior Emily Grundman, who is averaging 11.6 points a game and anchoring the Indians under the basket.
“We needed to replace Sarah Kiely, and we thought maybe it would be replacing her by committee, but we have been able to replace her with Emily,” Palkovics said. “She learned from Sarah last year.
“Emily can not only play around the basket – I have not seen her miss a 15-footer this year. She can pull people away 12-15 feet, and at the same time, she’s 6-2 with long arms and has kind of mastered a short hook shot.”
Senior Alyssa Jett has made contributions off the bench, and an unexpected bonus has been the return to the team of senior Dana Storjohann – who is 6-2 – after a two-year absence from the sport.
“She definitely brings a more physical presence,” Palkovics said. “She’s a tough post player. Two years ago, she was the go-to player in the post, so as this season goes on, she’s going to get a lot better with her offensive moves in the post and will make us a dangerous team once districts and states start.”
It’s impossible to miss the fact Rock North’s roster is loaded with juniors.
“Our grade is a really athletic grade,” Dumont said. “Even coming up through the program and jayvee – we have all been playing together a really long time, and this year it just clicked. We all stepped up this year, and it’s worked really well for us.”
While there are those who might be surprised to see the Indians off to such a strong start, the players insist they are not.
“Coming into this season, I knew we had a lot of really talented girls,” Dumont said. “Everyone is different in their playing styles, and together we work really well as a team.
“We all had high expectations for this year, but it’s just really exciting to play with a team that’s been so successful.”
The foundation for that success could well have been laid when the Indians made their annual trip to the Wildwood Tournament where they had three impressive wins.
“That helped a lot,” Dumont said. “It gave us confidence, helped us as a group. That was when we first started coming together, and we really saw this year’s team has a lot of potential to go places in the league and playoffs. A lot of girls played in Wildwood, and everyone stepped up and did their part, and it worked really well for us.
“Those tournaments are really fun because you get to see what the girls are like off the court, and it helps our communication and being able to know where everyone is on the floor, thinking together as a team.”
The Indians will host Neshaminy on Tuesday at 7 p.m. A win would give the Indians a perfect record after one go-round in SOL play. So far, it’s been a team effort.
Just the Facts
This year’s record: Council Rock North 6-0 SOL (10-0 overall), Neshaminy 3-3 SOL (10-3 overall)
Last year’s record: Council Rock North 24-6, Neshaminy 12-11
Last meeting: Feb. 2, 2010 – Council Rock North 50, Neshaminy 25 (CR North: Devin Gold – 16 points, Lauren Gold – 11 points, Sarah Kiely – 10 points; Neshaminy: Brianna Weiler – 8 points)
Last game: Council Rock North 55, Sanford (Del.) 40 (Lauren Gold – 15 points, Emily Grundman – 14 points, Alyssa Dumont – 10 points)
Neshaminy 56, Harry S. Truman 22 (Lori Paulits – 12 points, Megan Schafer – 10 points, Amanda Lally – 10 points)
Council Rock North
Projected starters and scoring averages:
#5 – Devin Gold (5-8, Sr., Guard) 13.8 PPG
#12 – Lauren Gold (5-7, Jr., Guard) 10.4 PPG
#21 – Emily Grundman (6-2, Jr., Center/Forward) 11.6 PPG
#35 – Megan Cunningham (5-10, Jr., Guard/Forward) 4.0 PPG
#51 – Helena Gemmel (5-10, Jr., Forward) 5.4 PPG
The rest of the Indians:
#3 – Melissa Moller (5-8, Sr., Guard)
#4 – Molly Doyle (5-8, Jr., Guard)
#10 – Alyssa Dumont (5-11, Jr., Forward) 7.0 PPG
#15 – Ally Mangogna (5-10, Sr., Forward)
#23 – Dana Storjohann (6-2, Sr., Center/Forward) 2.3 PPG
#30 – Lauren Jirele (5-8, Jr., Guard)
#34 – Alyssa Jett (5-9, Sr., Forward) 1.6 PPG
#41 – Melissa Rowland (5-8, Jr., Guard)
Neshaminy
Shannon Barlow (6-0, Sr., Center) 7.2 PPG
Alicia Kucey (6-2, Sr., Center)
Amanda Lally (5-6, Sr., Guard) 9.8 PPG
Jennifer Slivka (5-6, Sr., Guard) 5.8 PPG
Jackie Gerth (5-8, Jr., Forward) 2.3 PPG
Jade Kent (5-8, Jr., Forward) 3.2 PPG
Sam Maiorino (5-3, Jr., Guard)
Amy Paulits (5-8, Jr., Forward)
Kristine Logan (5-8, Soph., Forward)
Jamie Mason (5-6, Soph., Guard)
Lori Paulits (5-8, Soph., Guard) 5.9 PPG
McKenna Mullin (5-7, Fr., Guard)
Megan Schafer (5-7, Fr., Guard) 7.8 PPG
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