The Edmonds-Woodway girls basketball team has all the ingredients for a stellar season.
Start with one of the top forwards in the league – senior Abby Butler. Throw in a veteran guard in senior Jennifer Singh and a promising point guard –sophomore Alex Kenney – who started as a freshman.
Then add one of the top Class B players in Angela Woods, a transfer student from Shoreline Christian.
It all adds up to a ton of potential
“We are excited about this season,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Wayne Edwards said.
But Edwards isn’t ready to make any judgments about his squad until it’s played a few games.
“You can practice all you want but until you play some games you don’t know what you have,” Edwards said. “You don’t know how other teams are going to be.”
On paper, the Warriors certainly appear to be ready to challenge for the Western Conference South Division title.
The addition of Woods certainly bolsters Edmonds-Woodway’s prospects.
“She’s fitting in great,” Edwards said. “She’s a very good shooter, inside and outside. She’s only a sophomore.”
Joining Butler, Singh and Woods in the starting lineup are Kinney and sophomore Sydney Donaldson, a volleyball standout. Donaldson swung between the varsity and junior varsity teams last year.
Butler is one of the league’s most versatile players.
“She was our leading free throw shooters,” Edwards said. “She even better at draining them on the outside. She’s definitely a threat, inside and outside.”
Singh is even quicker than she was last year and brings veteran poise to the lineup.
“She has been shooting extremely well in practice,” Edwards said.
Butler and Singh have started since their freshman seasons.
What Edwards saw in Kinney as a freshman was basketball smarts. He has no reservations about starting her at point guard.
“She was the best player at the position I wanted her to play and that turned out well for her,” Edwards said.
Key players off the bench include sophomore Ashley Albertson, a 5-11 forward, and Madeline Kasper, a 5-4 guard. Albertson also swung between varsity and junior varsity.
The Warriors have the ability, if they want, to field a tall lineup with the likes of Butler (6-0), Albertson (5-11), Donaldson (5-11) and Woods (5-10).
“We have a big line if we want it to go that way,” Edwards said. “We could start (those) four girls but we probably won’t. It would depend on the competition.”
Thus far Edwards likes what he’s seen from his team.
“It’s coming together,” he said. “Obviously, it’s different offensively because we have a transfer student. The two sophomores that played had significant JV time and played significant varsity time. It’s going to take a while to put that chemistry together and get used to playing together.”
While there are some changes on the court, there also is a big change on the sidelines with the addition of a new but familiar face as a volunteer coach.
Edmonds-Woodway boys coach Gail Pintler was lured out of retirement by his old friend. Edwards was an assistant with Pintler, when he was coaching at Shorewood.
When Pintler returned to the sidelines at Edmonds-Woodway he tapped Edwards as his post coach.
“Just before the season started I asked if he would be interested,” Edwards said. “He said he’d like to.”
Pintler is coaching the defense, a familiar role. Pintler was the coach of the defense when the Shorewood girls won the state championship under Tom DeMetre.
As for any changes Pintler has brought to the Warriors, Edwards isn’t revealing anything.
“We’ll keep that under wraps until the opponents see what we’re playing,” he said.
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