Basketball - Girls Varsity

Captains:  Britt Brown '13 and Olivia Smith '14

After posting one the best seasons in Berkshire Varsity Girls’ basketball history in 2011-2012 and posting a 27-3 overall record and reaching the semi-finals of NEPSGBCA Class B Championship, the Bears enter the 2012-13 campaign with many new faces and high hopes of continued success. Having graduated four outstanding seniors, including league all-star Samantha DeFreese who is currently playing at Northeastern University in Boston, the team will feature a balance of talent and experience that should allow the Bears to be very competitive in the challenging NEPSGBCA, once again.

The team will be led by returning NEPSGBCA all-stars: Hannah Cooke ’14 (Portland, ME) and Kristalyn Baisden ‘15, (East Hartford, CT). Also returning from last year’s team are captains Brittany Brown ’13 (Bronx, NY) and Olivia Smith ‘14 (Portland, ME), as well as the talented and hardworking Francesca Ghi ’14 (Canaan, CT), Emmie Graebner ’14 (Bad Homburg, Germany) and Keunna Dill ’14 (Southampton, Bermuda). The Bears will also feature an injection of talented newcomers lead by Camryn Biasin ’14 (Lee, MA), Samone Defreese ’15 (New Milford, NJ), Ivey Mueller ’16 (Great Barrington, MA), Katie Stonecipher ’15 (Atlanta, GA) and Nicky Friedman ’15 (Swampscott, MA). Rounding out the team and looking to make positive contributions to the team’s effort and chemistry are Arwen Neski ’15 (Ashley Falls, MA), Eliza McKenna ’16 (Woodstock, NY) and team manager Hayley Sutherland (Kingston, Jamaica).

It won’t take long for the mostly new look Bears to find out how they stack up against the best in the western Massachusetts Prep School league as they open up with three very tough opponents in Kent (Dec. 1), Hotchkiss (Dec. 3) and Miss Porter’s (Dec. 5). The Bears will participate in two holiday tournaments this year that include the inaugural New England Prep School Girls’ Basketball Classic at Pomfret School (Dec. 14, 15) where it will play against perennial NEPSGBCA Pomfret, Cushing Academy, and Tilton Academy, and the Mustang Classic at Central Maine Community College (Dec. 27, 28).