Curtis Williams has seen the tough times with the Gateway girls basketball team the past couple of years.
The Gators went 0-19 last year, won just six games the past three seasons and are riding a 36-game section losing streak.
But Williams sees the program turning the corner. He saw flashes of that as last season progressed, and he is excited to see that continue as this season gets rolling.
“I think we have rebranded, for lack of a better term,” said Williams, whose team snapped an overall 32-game losing streak with wins over Obama Academy and Westinghouse on Nov. 29 and 30, respectively, at the season-opening Play 4 Mae Tournament at Woodland Hills.
“We have a group of girls who genuinely like each other, are supportive of each other and want to do their best for each other. They are ready to win. We only have two seniors, but between the seniors and the juniors, they’ve gone through a lot of the ups and downs. They know what they don’t want the environment to be. They may not score 10 to 20 points on this court, but they have done a tremendous job of helping change this culture. That is a breath of fresh air.”
Williams, entering his 11th season at the helm of the Gators, welcomed 18 to the start of preseason practices.
“My message to the girls is ‘Be the change that you want to see,’ ” Williams said.
“They are all working incredibly hard, and I know that hard work will pay off. We’re going to be better than 0-19, that is for sure. This is the year where we start to improve. We are changing the mindset and making sure the girls know that we can be a winning program. I think a lot of opponents will be in for some tough games.”
Captains and starters Rachel Szymanski and KC Glaze both were lost to graduation. Williams said guard/forward Lola Weiss, a starter last year as a freshman, chose not to return to the team.
Sophomore Ashley Griffith, last year’s first player off the bench, suffered an injury in soccer and had surgery. Williams said she will not be able to play this season.
But Williams is excited to have the leadership of starting point guard Lily Roney, one of nine sophomores who returned from last season.
“She’s our leader on the floor, hands down,” Williams said.
“There’s been a lot of growth from last year to now. I kind of threw her to the wolves last year as a freshman coming straight from middle school. There were some ups and downs with some adversity throughout the year. But I think it made her stronger. Now, in year two, she understands what the expectations are. She’s ready to compete at a high level and lead this team. As she goes, probably we’ll go.”
Roney said she is ready for the added responsibility as the team’s floor general.
“We have a bond with what we went through last year,” Roney said. “We’ve really been growing as individuals and as a team. We had a good offseason of work. We have been working really well together, and we have a lot of energy for this season.”
Sophomore center Heaven Brooks also is back as a starter.
“She’s taking steps and still has a lot of untapped potential which is good and inspiring,” Williams said.
“She’s handling the ball now and rebounding. She’s doing some good things, and it’s exciting to see what she can do for us. I expect a big jump from her in year two.”
Last year’s eighth grade team went undefeated, and Williams said a number of players from that team will be able to come in and bolster the varsity and JV teams.
“A lot of the girls who were freshman last year played both JV and varsity, so they got a lot of games, probably 38 or so,” Williams said.
“It might have been taxing at times, but getting that experience with so many games, they are better off for it. We have five freshman this year, and it will be fun to see how they come in and contribute with a lot of game experience.”
Williams said one of the freshmen, Jahnye Bryant, is expected to factor heavily in the varsity rotation.
The players, Williams said, got a chance to measure themselves with a pair of scrimmages before heading to the Play 4 Mae games..
Games at North Catholic (Dec. 8) and Latrobe (Dec. 11) will lead up to the start of section play next Tuesday (Dec. 16) against Fox Chapel.
Gateway will work to improve in the section against the Foxes and the other WPIAL playoff qualifiers in Shaler, Franklin Regional and Plum. Penn Hills and Armstrong also hope to improve in the section standings.
“Right now, we just want to compete and play hard,” Williams said.
“It’s a tough section, but no tougher than what we’ve experienced in the past. We want to give it our best each and every game. Go in one game at a time and respect our opponent but not fear them. If we do that, good things will happen.”