BERLIN- With a new coach at the helm, Worcester Prep’s girls’ varsity basketball team is looking to continue the momentum of another outstanding season last year.
Brian McDermott takes over this season as the head coach of Worcester’s girls’ varsity team and comes with a lot of experience. McDermott most recently coached at Salisbury University and his recent past also includes a stint at Sussex Tech in Delaware. He takes over a program that took a substantial hit to the talent and depth pool last year due to graduation, but the Mallards have a solid nucleus of returning veterans and a flock of talented underclassmen ready to step up and make their mark on the program.
Worcester has three seniors on the roster including Emily Copeland, Maddy Shanahan and Carly Hoffman and the trio will serve as co-captains in the 2019-2020 season. Also returning is solid contributor C.C. Lizas, a junior who, along with Hoffman, was named to the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference (ESIAC) All-Conference team last year.
Junior Sophia Ludt is the only other upperclassman on the varsity team this year. Otherwise, the Mallards will rely on a bevy on sophomores including Lily Baeurle, who played varsity last year, along with Sumira Sehgal, Morgan White, Natalie Brushmiller and Myranda Beebe. Each of the underclassmen play other sports at Worcester and should easily transition to basketball.
The Mallards will compete in the Tip-Off Classic at Delmarva Christian this weekend in a four-team tournament that includes the host along with Delmar and Indian River. Otherwise, the schedule is heavy with ESIAC foes along with the Governor’s Challenge in Salisbury over the holidays. Last year’s team went 16-4 overall and ran the table in the conference in the regular season before falling in the tournament championship game.