Loguidice, Silverado girls aim to return to postseason
Brittany Loguidice was a freshman when Silverado’s girls basketball team last played a postseason game.
In that time, the senior point guard has had three head coaches and seen some of her better teammates suddenly appear on other teams’ rosters.
Instead of sulking about it, though, Loguidice and her classmates have been dedicated to improving their games. They’re hoping the results show as the Skyhawks aim to improve on last season’s 10-16 record and make it back to the postseason after a two-year absence.
“We have a lot of chemistry together, and we all want to work hard,” said Loguidice, one of six seniors on the roster. “Everybody listens. We’ve got a lot of young players, and they want to learn a lot.”
The Skyhawks also are ahead of the curve this season under second-year coach Dean Bosch, who became Silverado’s third coach in three years when he took over last year.
“We are way further ahead than we were last year,” said Bosch, who guided Bonanza’s girls to a 40-15 mark from 2007 to 2009. “At the same time, we don’t have a lot of depth. We need to have some underclassmen step up.”
“The (coaching) turnover is something they’ve had to deal with, but hopefully I’ll be here for a while and that’s a thing of the past.”
Stability on the coaching staff will help, but so will the constant at the point guard spot, where the 5-foot-8-inch Loguidice likely will shine after averaging 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists last year.
“She’s a leader, and she’s got decent size for a point guard,” Bosch said “She handles the ball well, but the great thing about Brittany is she’s got that desire, that heart. She worked all offseason to become a better jump shooter, maybe cut down on the turnovers a little bit. She’s got all the makings of being a great player.
“We not only hope for great things from Brittany, but we expect her to have a big year.”
And she should get plenty of help from senior forward Jasmyn Garcia, who was the team’s leading rebounder last year, grabbing 5.9 per game and scoring 7.2.
Nicole D’Arpa, a senior who averaged 4.7 points and 2.8 assists last year, could provide a solid scoring option, too. Seniors A.J. Hodas and Stefani Koe also return and should see significant time.
“Jasmyn has really stepped it up, and Nicole is doing great things for us,” Bosch said. “We have some good players coming back.
“They’re hungry. They haven’t been to the playoffs since the seniors’ freshman year, and most of them didn’t play varsity then. They want to get back there. They don’t want to be labeled as average.”