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Washington County boys and girls basketball midseason report

daniel kauffman, the herald-mail
·7 min read

Let's take a look across the Washington County high school basketball scene midway through the season and highlight the top teams and players. Also check out our statistical leaderboards.

Heritage Academy boys (10-0)

Coming off a 23-4 record, Mason Dixon Christian Conference regular-season and tournament championships and an appearance in the Maryland Christian School Tournament final, the Eagles are rolling again as the only county team, boys or girls, still undefeated. They lead the county in scoring (71.7 points per game) and scoring defense (46.1 points allowed), with an average margin of victory of 25.6 points.

Senior guard Sean Mongan leads the county in scoring at 20.5 points per game and also averages 4.0 steals and 2.5 assists. Junior point guard Jackson Cline, who missed five games with an injury, is averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. Senior center Ethan Shoemaker is averaging 11.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and a county-best 3.3 blocks. Sophomore guard Noah Poe is averaging 11.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, a county-best 6.9 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.6 blocks. Sophomore swingman Micah Wilson fills out the starting five and averages 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Grace Academy boys (7-1)

The Knights' only loss came against MDCC rival Heritage, 54-36, on Dec. 12. Their defense has been the key to their hot start, holding opponents to 49.3 points per game to rank second in scoring defense in the county.

Grace is led by the 1-2 punch of senior guard Peter Ciardiello and junior guard Carson Feeser. Ciardiello ranks third in the county in scoring at 18.7 points per game and also averages 7.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals. Feeser ranks seventh in the county in scoring at 17.4 points per game and also averages 2.6 steals and 2.4 assists.

Senior Ronan Casey is averaging 12.9 points and 5.1 rebounds as the Knights' No. 3 scorer.

Smithsburg boys (8-2)

The Leopards boast the top winning percentage among county public-school boys and girls teams, in the process giving longtime head coach Eric Gerber his 200th career victory last week. They rank second in scoring offense at 70.9 points per game and are stingy at the other end, allowing opponents 56.5 points per game to rank third overall. They lead all public-school boys teams in both categories.

Sophomore swingman Trinity Wright ranks fifth in the county in scoring at 17.6 points per game on 56% overall shooting and also averages 7.0 rebounds and 3.1 steals. Junior guard Ja'Von Tyler averages 14.6 points, 4.0 steals and 3.2 assists, and is shooting 50% inside the arc and 37% from beyond it. Junior guard Tyler Ward rounds out the Leopards' double-digit scorers at 10.2 points.

North Hagerstown boys (7-3)

The Hubs gave Smithsburg one of its losses, 59-50, on Dec. 8 and are 3-1 in games decided by five or fewer points this season, including a thrilling 67-64 victory over rival South Hagerstown on Dec. 15.

Senior guard Nas Keyes ranks 10th in the county in scoring at 15.7 points per game and also averages a county-best 5.3 steals and 2.2 assists.

With Keyes missing the last four games, other Hubs have stepped up. Junior guard Landon Somerville is averaging 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds, and is shooting 60% inside the arc. Senior guard Will Bonds is averaging 14.0 points, 2.3 steals and 2.1 assists, and is shooting 45% from 3-point range. Senior forward Brady Walters is averaging 10.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks.

Smithsburg girls (7-3)

The Leopards boast the top winning percentage of all county girls squads and also lead the county in scoring offense at 54.9 points per game.

They also boast the top two public-school girls scorers in the county in sophomore guard Skyla Mastronardi and freshman guard Claire Bono. Mastronardi ranks second in the county in scoring (18.6 points per game) and first in steals (4.4 per game) while adding 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Bono ranks third in scoring (16.9 points per game) and second in steals (3.7 per game) while shooting 57.6% inside the arc.

Mastronardi posted a rare triple-double on Friday against Clear Spring with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals. She finished three assists shy of an extremely rare quadruple-double.

Broadfording girls (10-5)

The Lions are the only Mason Dixon Christian Conference girls team that is undefeated in league games, and rank second in the county in scoring defense, holding opponents to 32.8 points per game.

Junior guard Fanta Minteh leads all county girls in scoring at 23.3 points per game. She has scored 55.5% of Broadfording's points this season.

Williamsport girls (6-3)

The Wildcats have the county's stingiest defense, holding opponents to 31.9 points per game, and are on a four-game winning streak.

Junior forward Emerson Shank leads the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game and also averages 6.5 rebounds. Other contributors include sophomore forward Rileigh Cole (7.7 rebounds), senior guard Mackenzie Kloos (2.1 assists and 2.0 steals) and senior guard Laurel Hudson (5.7 points and 2.4 steals).

Quick hits

  • The St. Maria Goretti girls (8-6) rank second in the county in scoring offense at 50.6 points per game, with sophomore Olivia Bolduc (11.4 ppg) and junior Kilah Dandridge (10.7 ppg) each ranking in the top seven in the county. Junior Danica Bennett and senior Amiyah Fulton each average 8.5 points.

  • The Williamsport boys (5-4) rank third in the county in scoring offense at 65.7 points per game, led by junior forward Ceonta Wilmore, who ranks fourth in the county at 18.4 points per game. Senior guard Jonathan Charles adds 11.0 points per game.

  • The Grace Academy girls (3-2) rank third in the county in scoring defense, surrendering 34.4 points per game. Erica Long ranks fourth in scoring (14.5 ppg), first by a wide margin in rebounds (17.5 per game) and fourth in steals (3.0 per game). Ella Papa averages 10.5 points. Elise Barnhart leads the county in assists (8.0 per game) and ranks third in steals (3.5 per game).

  • The Boonsboro girls (5-5) rank third in the county in scoring at 42.1 points per game, led by senior Haylee Hartman, who ranks fifth in scoring at 13.2 points per game and is fourth in rebounds (8.3 per game) and fifth in steals (2.6 per game).

  • The St. Maria Goretti boys (8-9), who have faced their usual difficult schedule, are third in the Baltimore Catholic League standings at 3-1 after a 70-68 road overtime win at Mount Carmel. Senior Jarvis Wright ranks second in the county in scoring (19.9 ppg) and third in assists (3.8 per game), and senior Caleb Embeya ranks sixth in scoring (17.4 ppg), first by a wide margin in rebounding (12.0 per game) and fourth in blocks (1.4 per game).

  • The South Hagerstown boys (4-6) are seven points away from being 6-4, with a three-point loss to North Hagerstown and a two-point setback to Allegany. Sophomore Xavier Oree ranks ninth in scoring (17.0 ppg) and fourth in assists (3.6 per game), and is supported by seniors Lance Ford (10.7 points, 2.7 steals), Elijah Creary (9.1 points, 1.1 blocks) and Damon Breland (7.2 rebounds).

  • Saint James sophomore Jayden Yates ranks eighth in the county in boys scoring at 17.3 points per game and ranks sixth in assists (3.2 per game). Teammate Trevor Owens ranks fourth in rebounding (7.4 per game).

  • Clear Spring senior Callie Alkire ranks eighth in county girls scoring at 10.6 points per game and is second in rebounding (9.6 per game) and fourth in blocks (1.0 per game). Freshman Abby Curry is tied for 10th in scoring (9.8 ppg) and is seventh in rebounding (7.1 per game). Freshman Kara Hoover ranks second in assists (4.4 per game).

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County boys and girls basketball midseason report