Kate Harman, formerly of the Philadelphia Inquirer, will be writing a blog completely dedicated to Southeastern Pa. girls’ basketball. Check back for Kate’s regular contributions.
I’ve always loved telling stories and I’ve always loved sports.
It only came as a natural fit to tell stories about sports. But not just the games, the x’s and o’s – the stories I like to tell go beyond the numbers and delve into the people that are playing, coaching, or even watching.
For seven years I told stories like that at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where I covered high school sports, an area including over 175 different teams and 11 leagues. During that time, I took great effort and care in my role in empowering girls, going out of my way to spend equal time devoted to both boys’ and girls’ athletics and treating each athlete, team, or coach the same. As someone who used to be that young girl playing high school and collegiate sports I knew how important that coverage was.
Now, I have a new venture.
There is a huge void in coverage of girls’ athletics on all scales, but especially at the high school level, where, theoretically, more parity in how sports are reported should exist. The boys get the headlines, the profiles, the pictures, while the girls are often treated like second class citizens.
This is especially true in the basketball world where there are comprehensive and reliably consistent websites for boys’ basketball but none for the girls’ game.
The fact that there has never been something like this for the wealth of talent in our area – talent that stretches back decades and can be seen currently in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has always bothered me immensely.
So, with the help of Mary Jane Souder at Suburban One Sports we have developed a blog completely dedicated to Southeastern Pa. girls’ basketball. We are excited about the opportunity and about the impact this endeavor may have.
Here we hope to highlight nightly scoreboards, weekly features, top 10 rankings and much more.
You can email me at KateRHarman@gmail.com and reach me on twitter @ka_harman.
Thanks for reading!
--Kate Harman
Southeastern Pa. Girls’ Basketball
Top 10 rankings (12-7-17)
(Last season’s record in parenthesis)
1. Souderton (22-8) The squad returns all five starters from last year’s PIAA Class 6A semifinal team, a group that allowed less than 40 points 26 times over the course of the season.
2. Cardinal O’Hara (24-6) Three key cogs from the defending Catholic League champions are back for the Lions: Kenzie Gardler, Maura Hendrixson, and Molly Paolino. The big question is who else will step up?
3. Central Bucks West (23-6) An injury to Tori Abelson is a big blow to the Bucks, who have to contend in the always tough Suburban One League Continental Conference, but the team has a strong nucleus returning, including sophomore Maddie Burke.
4. Archbishop Wood (24-7) Three seniors were lost to graduation for the Vikings, who have won two consecutive state titles, but that usually doesn’t have a huge impact on the traditionally tough and consistently talented program. Katie May and Bridget Arcidiacono will lead the team.
5. Germantown Academy (21-10) The Patriots were young last year which led to some inconsistency, but that experience should pay off now, as GA looks to capture another Inter-Ac championship and return to the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) title game.
6. Central Bucks South (20-8) Guards Alexa Brodie, Mac Ehresman, and Haley Meinel will power the Titans, as the team will try and continue its recent postseason success.
7. Neumann-Goretti (24-5) Fresh off three straight state championships, the Saints have a few significant returners in Jabria Ingram and Tatiana Jones, plus some newcomers bound to make a splash.
8. Abington (23-6) The defending District 1 Class 6A champions lost Lizzie Oleary to graduation but return two strong guards in Brit James and Sam Brusha, as well as a top post player in Kassondra Brown, making the Ghosts a tough match up.
9. Plymouth Whitemarsh (27-3) Explosive guard Taylor O’Brien helped ignite the Colonials to a dream season a year ago. The team looks to capitalize on that success – which included an appearance in the district championship and a berth in the state playoffs.
10. Shipley (23-6) Lauren Ross and Anna Camden are one of the most exciting duos in the area, as the Gators look to defend their PAISAA title, an accomplishment the program has claimed four times since 2012.
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