By contributing writers Lucy Brown (’28) and Kara Barnello (’28)
With the help of a new head coach and assistant coach, the Jamesville-Dewitt girls varsity basketball team ended the regular season with a great record, and they made it to the sectional finals during the postseason. New Head Coach Randy Wright and Assistant Coach Jordan Beers led the team to a 15-5 record. The girls had a total of 1,001 points this season, improving 68 points from last year’s total of 933 points, playing 21 games and winning 16.
Senior and captain Ava Sandroni hit 1,000 career points during the game against Central Valley Academy on Feb. 3. Sandroni is one of the few J-D student-athletes ever to score 1,000 points. “I was pretty nervous and stressed leading up to the 1000 points. People kept asking me about it, and it felt like a bit of pressure,” said Sandroni. “Then when I finally hit it, it felt really good to reach a milestone that not a lot of other people reach,” she said.
Sandroni and sophomore Sam Wheeler both feel good about their chances in the upcoming sectionals game against Utica Notre-Dame on March 7, but are worried about defending the best girl in the section.
The girls top scorers are Sandroni and senior Sadie Withers. The top rebounders are Sandroni and Wheeler. Wheeler explains how losing the seniors next year will affect the team overall, but still maintains the possibility of success in the 25-26 season.
The Jamesville-DeWitt boys varsity basketball team found similar success this season, also with a new head coach. The regular season came to a close with a 14-6 record. New Head Coach James Jones said it was an adjustment for himself and all of the boys to have a new coach, but eventually they settled into the flow of the season.
They started off a little bit shaky, losing their first two games, but reeled it back in towards the end of the season, earning themselves the second seed for sectionals. Coach Jones said their hardest game was against West Genesee, where they lost by 3 points. Coach Jones said although the season was tough, he was satisfied with how the season went. “We had some dogfights, but overall, I wouldn’t change a thing about the season,” he said before the sectional finals game.
As a team, the boys scored a total of 1,524 points. Senior Alan Zanders scored 382 points, the most of the team. The team feels really good about the sectional final game and they believe their chances of a win are high. “Some goals for sectionals are, one, to win; and two, to play in the moment. I know some kids shy away from the moment, but we have a really good group of seniors who I think will definitely play to the best of their abilities,” said Coach Jones.
“We had a really great group of seniors, but I have just as much confidence in the current seniors as I do in my juniors, sophomores, and freshmen,” said Coach Jones Overall, he is excited for next season and believes they can be as successful as they were this year.
