Northwood girls basketball coach Kerri Snipes knows her team will have a target on its back this season.
It’s only natural. The Chargers are the reigning 3A state champions, after all, and have an overall record of 66-8 over the past three seasons. After winning the first state title in program history, all eyes are on Northwood to see if it can put together another stellar season.
With those distractions in mind, Snipes has tried to play things down and keep her players focused on the task at hand.
“My mindset has been to just take it day by day,” Snipes said. “We haven’t had a whole lot of discussion about it yet, but the reality of it is, yes, certainly people do want to see what we’re made of and see how they can compete against us.”
Last year, the Chargers went 30-1 overall en route to the state championship, losing just one game to Millbrook, 57-53, in a holiday tournament. Northwood dominated teams in the playoffs, winning by double digits in five of its six postseason games, including a 70-42 beatdown of Enka in the state final.
Northwood’s best player last season was senior Olivia Porter, who led the team in points (16.4), rebounds (6.4), assists (3.8) and steals (4.3) per game in 2021-22. This year, the Chargers will have to find a way to replace that production as Porter is currently a freshman with the Michigan State women’s basketball team and is no longer on the roster.
Among those expected to step up for the Chargers this season is senior forward Te’Keyah Bland, who was second on the team in points per game (8.8) while racking up 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
Bland is currently Northwood’s tallest player at 5-foot-11, and she’ll be counted on to score in the low post as well as serve as a rim-protector on defense.
“(Bland) has certainly worked hard over the last three years,” Snipes said. “She’s really gotten a lot stronger, especially this past season, so that’s what we’ve continued to work on this offseason. We’re trying to make sure she can be physical and can compete.”
Northwood won’t be a one-trick pony on offense, however. The Chargers also have players who can make shots from 3-point range, including junior Skylar Adams and senior Gianna McManaman, who combined to shoot 44-of-128 (34.4%) from behind the line last winter.
Last season the Chargers made 160 threes as a team, but the majority of them came from Porter (60) and fellow senior Natalie Bell (41). Despite the losses, Snipes expects her players to step in and make up for the hot outside shooting.
“We definitely have shooters. I’m looking to see who is going to step up into those roles this year. That’s definitely a strategy for us, the ability to play inside and out, and I think we certainly have the tools to be able to do that.”
Defensively, the Chargers will try to pick up right where they left off after giving up an average of 31.1 points per game a season ago. Last year’s Northwood team gave up 25 points or less on eight occasions last season, and the intensity on that side of the floor led to open looks on the offensive end and easy transition buckets.
The Northwood girls basketball will hold open tryouts for interested athletes on Oct. 31. The Chargers begin their title defense in the middle of November, as they face Apex Friendship on the road on Nov. 18.
Defeating Apex Friendship will be a tough task to open the season, as the Patriots are coming off a 29-3 campaign last winter. The Chargers will then face Panther Creek — which also won 20 games last season — in their second game of the year.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.