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Prepping for Preps '22-23: Plymouth Whitemarsh (Girls)

11/29/2022, 10:00am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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Erin Daley was in her element.

In a back hallway between games of a fall shootout event, the Plymouth Whitemarsh senior had grabbed coach Dan Dougherty’s diagram board, huddled her teammates around and started a lesson. With senior Abby Sharpe seated to her right and adding a note here and there, Daley began schooling a very different looking group of Colonials on what they needed to be doing.

If last year was perfection;  this year will likely be a work in progress for PW.

“We’re committed and I know they’re committed to getting everything down now and we will be ready by the time the season comes,” Daley said. “There’s no reason we can’t have a successful season like we had last year.”


Senior forward Erin Daley, above, is one of two returning starters from last season's undefeated squad. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

This time a year ago, the Colonials were gearing up for a season with very clearly defined expectations of adding several trophies to the well-stocked PW coffers. They did just that, going 34-0 while capturing an outright SOL Liberty title, an SOL tournament title, the District 1 6A title and the PIAA 6A championship that was more coronation than competition with how dominantly the Colonials played.

That was last year.

Daley and Sharpe are back, and that’d be a really nice foundation for any team but there are significant changes around them. Dynamo point guard Kaitlyn Flanagan is at Holy Cross, double-double machine Lainey Allen is at Maryland-Eastern Shore, two-way stalwart Jordyn Thomas is at Jefferson and super-sub Fiona Gooneratne is at Penn State.

“We’re a much younger team this year,” Daley said. “For me and Abby, coming off our winning season last year, we know we have what it takes to step up as leaders and help them to learn what they need to learn now.”

Daley and Sharpe have two starting spots locked up. Senior Angelina Balcer, the team’s second sub off the bench all last season, figures to take another while forward Azzy Crumpton rounds out the senior class for the 2022-23 campaign.

Junior Caitlyn Dinh, a standout soccer goalie, will move up from JV but outside of that, the Colonials are expecting a newcomer-heavy approach to rounding out the rotation. There’s an expected learning curve, which prompted the Daley-led lesson but the seniors really like the energy the freshmen have brought with them.

On top of that, they’re talkative, outgoing and eager to learn from their upperclassmen.

“They’re ready to come in, step up and play a big role for us,” Sharpe said. “That’s really important, we want to keep the same intensity that we had last year and being able to get them up to speed early in the season is what we’re trying to focus on.”


PW senior Abby Sharpe is committed to play at Penn. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Sharpe won’t be taking anyone by surprise this season. The 5-foot-11 guard was on the short list for breakout player of the year last season, parlaying a good summer into a first team all-state selection and a commitment to play at Penn.

As the team’s leading scorer in the postseason, Sharpe knows that territory brings added attention to begin with and that it will only be magnified with a relatively unproven team around her.

“We know there are eyes watching us but we’ve talked about it, we’re not going to let it affect us or affect our play,” Sharpe said. “We’re not the same team but that doesn’t mean we can’t be that team. We’re still working as hard as we did last year, I still have great expectations for us this year and don’t count us out yet.

“There’s eyes watching us for a reason.”

“I think people look at our winning season last year as a result of our talent and I don’t think those people realize how much work we put in before and during the season,” Daley said. “We won our games because we prepared, because we practiced hard and I know that this team has the heart we had last year, there’s no reason we can’t come out and surprise a lot of people.”

Dougherty generally likes to have a solidified seven-player rotation and the Colonials, who played in more fall events than usual this year, are looking for a couple more players to fill those spots. Freshman guard AJ Avery, a lead guard type with a nice handle and quick step, looks to see a lot of minutes right away and Kenna Winland, another freshman, will battle for time off the bench.

Bringing a 34-game win streak - even if the roster is largely different - puts a target on the Colonials, as does their standing as reigning state, district and SOL champions. Dougherty knows his team is going to lose at some point this season, so the idea is for any setbacks to make PW better in the long run.

“One of the best things to not have to coach is dedication. There’s a certain expectation and prestige now with wearing the PW brand so the downside of that is the pressure they feel,” Dougherty said. “A lot of it’s going to come down to the way we react after it. Last year, undefeated was never the goal, it was always about winning championships and this year, it’s going to be about getting ready for February but also putting ourselves in a position where we’re not fighting to get in as a No. 24 seed.”

That doesn’t mean there are no expectations. Daley and Sharpe want to win the SOL Colonial for a fourth straight time and the senior duo was adamant the talent is there with this group.

They’re also well aware they’ll need everyone else. Dougherty is confident that Balcer, who just committed to play soccer and basketball at Chestnut Hill, and Crumpton will be able to alleviate pressure on Sharpe and Daley early and the others will follow in time.

“We won last year as a team and no team can go all the way with just two people and expect to keep winning,” Daley said. “The earlier we can play as a team and everyone can contribute, that’s what’s going to make us successful”

“It’s a different mindset this year in terms of, we’re probably going to get double-teamed or face-guarded but if one or both of us is being guarded like that, we have to work off each other,” Shape said. “We also want to get the other people involved as well, that’s the biggest thing, it’s not just me and Erin playing out there, we’re going to use everyone we have.

“It’s not just us, we don’t want to be stars on our own, we want to be leaders and include everyone.”


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