The Huntington High School junior varsity girls’ basketball team has a relatively small roster size this winter, but while head coach John Romano would have liked to see a few more players on the squad, he was happy with the practice habits and hard play of those that did take the court for the Blue Devils.
Putting together a team during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t easy, but Huntington’s 10 players have all given the team their best effort. There was mandatory weekly COVID testing and some practices were held off campus at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, but Romano and his players made it all work.
The roster included freshmen Kayleigh Bender, Zaida Correal, Katherine Estrada-Morales, Yuliana Hernandez Perla, Marley Joseph, Jessica Maixner, Neurdia Osias and Reese Rinaldi; sophomore Abagail Baade and junior Zaria Smith.
Romano taught and retaught fundamentals and drilled and scrimmaged them so the Blue Devils could master the essentials and execute them in a game.
The Huntington JV’s already scaled down schedule was further cut back when some opponents were forced to quarantine due to positive tests. But the Blue Devils pushed on, practicing and playing whenever they could. A few snowstorms interfered, too, but, again, the squad handled it well.
While it is hard to get a “feel” for a team that has only played together for a few weeks, the Huntington JV showed periodic flashes of real potential, with players displaying talent under the basket as well as from the outside and on defense.
