Jr. high teams finish season

Coudersport's girls finished the junior high basketball season with a spotless 15-0 record. Team members, shown with Head Coach Jason Streich, were (from left): front-- D.J. Cowburn, Ellen Gerner, Tori Brown, Amanda Morey, Jennifer Kane, Megan Gee and Angela Smoulder; back --Darien Gist, Keri Hamilton, Jenna Matzinger, Hannah Fink, Brailee Linden, Kirstyn Whitman, Rachel Babcock and Amanda Ramage. Missing: Brielle Whitman.

Both of Coudersport's junior high basketball coaches recognized their roles in emphasizing the fundamentals this season.

By that measure -- as a building block for the varsity basketball program -- the 2007 season was a success. And, in the case of the girls' team, the season was even more special: those Falcons never lost a game!

Coach Jason Streich's squad finished at 15-0, with a 24- point average margin of victory.

"We had several goals coming into the season and these girls achieved them all," said Streich who was assisted by Sheri Matzinger and Theresa Daniels. "I asked the girls to give me the proverbial '110 percent' every second they were on the floor, and they did. We were also looking to show continual improvement and to have fun. All of our girls were focused, determined and hardworking."

An aggressive "man-toman" defense rattled every opponent, Streich said. D. J. Cowburn and Tori Brown averaged about five steals each per game.

That often led to points on other end of the floor. Jenna Matzinger (14.4) and Cowburn (10.5) were the scoring leaders. Brown and Fink each averaged 5.1 points per game.

Coudersport also rebounded well, with Matzinger and Fink each averaging more than five boards per game. Cowburn and Brown each averaged more than three assists per game.

On the boys' side, Coach John Sherry's squad finished with an 11-5 record. The Falcons dropped the season finale last week to Oswayo Valley, 31-26, despite 11 points from Taylor Hathaway 11 and eight from Kevin Wolfinger.

"Illness and injury caught up with us, but we battled pretty well throughout the game," Sherry said. "This was a character building season for us. Our boys showed their character in a season that was enjoyable and quite successful."