PG North:
By Nicholas Tolomeo,
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
All eyes will be on Butler
Area senior Olivia Bresnahan this season, the top returning player in the WPIAL
... well, most eyes anyways.
The college coaches who
have filled the bleachers throughout Bresnahan's career at
Heading into her senior
year, Bresnahan no longer has to worry about the numerous phone calls from
college coaches or being asked to name her top three schools.
"The whole process
started to get real stressful," Bresnahan said. "I knew I wanted to
get it over with before the season started."
"I have already seen
a difference with her," Epps said.
"Last year, there
were so many coaches in the stands for games and practices, it is a great
thing, but for a young lady it can be unnerving. I thought she handled it well
last year. There is a big difference in her relaxation and now she is trying to
take care of her goal to win a WPIAL championship."
The college decision is
not the only reason some pressure will be taken off Bresnahan's shoulders.
Butler has made defensive strides in the offseason and with the progression of
seniors Casey Fleeger and Rebecca Nowacki, no longer will Bresnahan be counted
on to guard the opposing team's best player.
"We are hoping this
year we don't have to have [Bresnahan] guard the best player on the other
team," Epps said. "That should help her out some as far as being able
to stay on the floor and stay out of foul trouble."
Depending on the opposing
team's personnel, Epps can use either Nowacki, a 6-0 forward, or 5-5 guard
Casey Fleeger.
"Rebecca is a tall,
agile and athletic young lady who has shown some big improvements over the
summer," Epps said. "I feel that if their best player is a big girl,
she can guard them."
If a guard on the
opposition is dangerous, then Epps will likely turn to Fleeger.
"Casey has really
stepped up her game," Bresnahan said. "She was our best on-the-ball
defender last year. Coach always tells us our bread and butter is our defense and we have been working on it really hard all
offseason."
Keeping Bresnahan on the
court and out of foul trouble will be critical if
"Every year it seems
a lot of players will have a good year and then kind of slide into the
background," Epps said.
"Olivia seems to have
gotten better and that is a tribute to her work ethic. She never takes time off
and she thinks she has made it. She is always willing to work harder and work
on parts of her game that she does need to work on."
Even after an outright
Section 3-AAAA title last year and a No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs,
"I think that loss
last year left a real sour taste in their mouths," Epps said.
"Throughout the
spring, summer and fall, the girls seemed to really look forward to getting
back in the gym and rectifying the problems we had. An early unexpected exit, that is how the playoffs are. They learned a valuable
lesson. When the playoffs come, you take one game at a time."
Before