City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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There will be no sneaking up on anyone this season. A target tends to form when you win, which is what Steve Polinsky did in his first year as Council Rock South’s girls’ basketball coach last season. The Hawks finished 22-7 overall. They won the Suburban One League Patriot Division title for only the second time in school history (the first was 2012), going 9-1, their only regular-season league loss coming against 2024 defending Patriot Division champ Neshaminy.

Polinsky did an amazing job, considering he had so little time to piece together a competitive team. He took the job in late September 2024, about a month before tryouts started. He arrived at Council Rock South after being a head coach for six years at New Hope-Solebury, where he had success with a pair of SOL Freedom titles, two District 1 3A championships and a state playoff win. Before that, he was an assistant at Archbishop Wood for three years. He was also a head coach at Villa Joseph Marie.

That begins with lone returning starter 5-foot-11 senior forward Bella Hettler, who led the Hawks in blocked shots and rebounds. She will be joined by 5-5 senior guard Emerson Gunther, who is committed to Salisbury University, 5-4 senior guard Gillian Martin, 5-8 junior forward Anabelle Kusch, and 5-6 junior point guard Ruby Bross, 5-5 sophomore guard Carly Conetta, 5-6 sophomore forward Noelle Lamb, and 5-11 freshman forward Kylie Metz.

Polinsky admits he did not foresee a 22-win season coming last year. This summer, he was able to invest his time and work with his team. The Hawks started last season 1-2, and then they did not lose a game for a month, going on an 18-game winning streak. Council Rock South did it with a potent transition game and a solid defense. He likes this team’s versatility. He will need to replace the scoring and leadership void left by the graduation of three college players, Fiona Reckner (Franklin & Marshall), Sara Freeman (Ursinus) and Liliana Metrick (Widener).

“I like this team,” Polinsky said. “I would say Emerson Gunther is one of the best shooters that I have seen in the last couple of years shooting the three. I expect her to score. Given the opportunity, Gillian Martin has a really nice shot, too. We have lost so many points from last year that I am telling them I need 10 to 12 shots from certain people. I think Bella and Anabelle are two post players who can play inside and have really good foot work. We’ll use the inside a lot with them. I’m excited to see how that goes.”

Everything will revolve around Gunther. She is not afraid of the moment. She scored 14 points against eventual Class 6A state semifinalist and Catholic League finalist Archbishop Carroll in the Hawks’ 61-42 opening-round state playoff loss. Gunther gives Polinsky the flexibility of running the point or as a shooting guard. Polinsky will hand Bross the keys to the car as the team’s point guard. Martin compliments Gunther with her three-point range and can drive the basket.

Hettler will be expected to be more aggressive offensively. She extended her game this summer by working on her shooting distance, and Polinsky will give her the green light as a trailer to shoot threes.

“I do hope to fill a more offensive role this year,” Hettler said. “I did more driving work and shooting. I worked on my ballhandling, and I have definitely worked more on my three-point shot. My confidence is a lot higher than it was last year with my (three-point) shot. It was a long time ago that we won the Patriot. We expected to win more than one state playoff game. It was disappointing to lose, so that put a fire under us. Last year was a new experience getting to the state playoffs.

“After we lost, we got back a month later working out. It’s a taste we want to chase after more.”

As of a few weeks ago, the Hawks were waiting for the SOL Patriot championship banner hanging in the gym to have 2025 added to it.

Gunther worked on her ballhandling skills dribbling through an unfinished portion of her basement. She took hundreds of shots over the summer to sharpen her perimeter skills. Bross will be the point guard, but Gunther will be helping her.       

“Our camaraderie made us strong last year and hopefully we will be able to recreate that,” Gunther said. “On the court, we played awesome defense last year. Everyone knew the scout. Everyone paid attention. I saw how hard the seniors took our state playoff loss. We expected to win a few district playoff games. We did some good things. Our next goal is to win a few state playoff games. We want to repeat as Patriot champions, and we want to make our senior year a memorable one.

“We have some young players who will see lots of varsity time. Ruby Bross and Anabelle Kusch I’m expecting to have a huge impact on our team. I’m super excited for this season. I worked hard for this moment.”

Martin gives the Hawks another outside shooting threat. Transition baskets will be key to the Hawks’ success, with Bross pushing it, Hettler and Kusch filling the middle and Gunther and Martin on the wings shooting threes.

“We’re still waiting for them to put the SOL Patriot banner up in the gym and it is something we worked for,” Martin said. “Realistically, we lost five college athletes and three college players. But with the younger players coming up, and everyone coming right back at it after the season ended, that was great to see. I would definitely agree we are a hungry team coming back. We will be the target of everyone. But that helps our mindset, and that comes with keeping the same mindset we had last year.”

No sneaking up this season. It tends to happen when you win, which is what the Hawks expect to do again.   

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.