Team Preview
Written by: Sven Alskog
Some of the most successful years of the Rockland Bulldog girls basketball program have transpired in the last few years, with much of it due to the contributions of one key player who has moved on following graduation.
Savanah Farr finished her career as a Bulldog last season, finishing with 1,128 total points in the four years, including a Rockland record 421 last year alone. Replacing the productivity of the best player in Bulldog history will be a huge task for 18th year Head Coach Vern Nelson and his team.
After averaging 16.8 points and 12.3 rebound per game last season to along with 5 steals on average, Farr yields to her former counterparts and some newcomers who will be asked to come together in an attempt to offset the huge loss.
Having made back-to-back appearances to the 1AD2 state tournament, Nelson has plenty of other talent at his disposal.
The talent pool is led by Mesa Farr, the younger sister of Savanah, a senior guard who provides constant pressure on her opponents with stingy defense. The younger Farr is also a strong rebounder and distributor to her teammates.
Stefani McClanahan is expected to be the primary source of scoring this season for the Bulldogs after exploding onto the scene last year at the state tournament. McClanahan has a soft touch from outside, while also being able to drive to the basket to fill up the scoreboard when needed.
After finding out in the state tournament last year that they indeed did have some offensive compliments to Farr, the challenge will be finding some help for McClanahan this time around.
Helping to replace the production of Savanah Farr down low will be 5’11” junior Aspen O’Brien, a player who has learned from the now departed star over the last couple years and hopes to find some success of her own in the interior this season.
The Bulldogs are known in the lower levels as a team that forces the issue to other teams when they are on offense, creating many turnovers and leading to easy baskets on the other end. Against better teams this can create an issue however with over pursuing on defense, instead leading to lay-ins for the opposition. Without Farr down low to prevent this from happening, it will be key for Rockland to stay in front of their opponents to avoid facing the fate of needing to be bailed out by a post player on a block or a strip.
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