It was the most heralded crop of girls’ basketball players to come through Cove since Sherri Mikus and company made its debut in the 2000-01 season.
The Susquenita girls’ class of 2021, arrived with great fanfare and greater expectations.
The four primary Blackhawks in that group — Haily Sherman, Madi Blyler, Taylor Portzline and Laurel Stuempfle — now move on having met — mostly — those expectations.
Forget the individual accomplishments, like Sherman completing her four-year run as the No. 1 scorer and fourth-leading rebounder in program history, or Blyler landing at No. 12 in career points and second in assists, or Portzline bombing away for 139 3s, second all-time.
These Blackhawks will be remembered most for their wins — 69 — a total exceeded only by the Mikus crew that collected 85, and matched by the class of 2016.
Leave it to Blaine Leonard, who inherited the gang of four a year ago and piloted the Blackhawks to a 16-4 record, to put their achievements in perspective.
“It’s hard to say good-bye (to these seniors). They were wild kids, but great kids and great players,” Leonard said. “They were hard to coach, but I loved every minute of it.
“For two years, they won pretty much everything that was there — two county and two Tri-Valley League championships. (The Blackhawks actually were tied with Upper Dauphin this past season).
“They had a lot of success.”
They could have had more, particularly this year.
After opening with a 40-point blowout of Newport, the Blackhawks stumbled badly in an 11-point loss at West Perry, a six-win ballclub.
Leonard’s resilient team bounced back by winning eight straight games, but dropped a 54-49 head-scratcher at UDA. Three wins followed, but another disappointing loss, 51-42 at Pequea Valley, another six-win opponent, came next.
The Blackhawks recovered with wins in their final three games, including the PECO final against Greenwood, but the damage had been done.
Once ranked as high as No. 3 in the District 3AAA power rankings, Susquenita tumbled to fourth and drew Lancaster Mennonite and its star wing, who scorched the Blackhawks for 30 points in the 53-40 win that ended the Blackhawks’ season.
Flip any one of the Blackhawks’ losses and they are No. 3, avoiding Mennonite and having a clearer path to a district final against Trinity.
“As far as I can tell, if we win any of those games, we move up,” Leonard said. “It was disappointing we didn’t get to play for a district championship.
“When we put it all together, we couldn’t be beaten. When we didn’t, we could lose to anybody.”
Otherwise, the Blackhawks were anything but disappointing.
The seniors played as expected.
Sherman, who scored a county-best 342 points, lifted her career total to 1,523, surpassing Mikus’ 1,493. She had 18 games in double figures — six with 20 or more, including a season-best 28 against Line Mountain. Sherman also led the Blackhawks with 6.6 rebounds a game and 17 blocks. She knocked in 17 3-pointers and was named a first-team TVL all-star and co-MVP, with Montana Paul of Halifax.
“I was happy Haily was named a co-MVP but, as good as Montana was — and she had a great career — I don’t how Haily wasn’t recognized as the best player in the league,” Leonard said. “And, if she wasn’t, it was Madi Blyler. She was top 10 in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists. Blyler had double the assists of the next kid — that’s insane — and she guarded the other team’s best player every game. She had a great year.”
Blyler finished her career with 806 points, 389 assists and 61 3s, which is 10th all-time.
Portzline and Stuempfle also turned in great years.
Portzline, in the rotation for four years, led the county with 39 3s, a career-best 1.95 per game. She had five games in double figures, including a career-high 18 (with five 3s) in the PECO title-game win over Greenwood. She also averaged career highs in points (7.1), rebounds, steals and assists.
Stuempfle was elevated to a starting job and excelled. She posted career highs in scoring (4.1) and rebounds (5.6). Stuempfle had double-digit points against Line Mountain and Pequea Valley and 10-plus boards twice in wins over Newport.
“Taylor and Laurel are super-smart players. They knew the system and embraced their roles,” Leonard said. “Laurel improved a ton from last year.”
Sam Wechsler commands the ball during a Susquenita basketball game. (Veronica Dillman photo)
Leonard surrounded his seniors with a talented class of sophomores that included Sam Wechsler, Mady Fleisher, Joslyn Kinney, Grace Flickinger, Hailey Lingle and Liz Jones.
Jones, who saw major minutes a year ago, lasted only three games before she was shut down.
Her absence opened the door to Fleisher, Wechsler, Flickinger and, eventually, Kinney to get more playing time. They didn’t waste the opportunity.
Fleisher moved into the starting lineup early and played well until she was lost for three games due to illness.
She finished with 52 points, including a career-high 13 against Juniata.
When Fleisher went out, Wechsler stepped in. A blur on the floor, Wechsler gave Leonard another rabid defender (37 steals) and a high-energy player willing to scramble for loose balls.
Flickinger, a move-in, and Kinney, who spent her freshman year at Linden Hall, were valuable front-court pieces. They, along with the rest of the sophomore class, are be expected to take on larger roles next year.
“Once the sophomores realized they were OK, they played with more confidence,” Leonard said. “This is a good group of kids.”
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