The writer is a senior at Bethlehem Central High School.
The Bethlehem girls basketball team has a lot in common with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Like the Celtics, the Lady Eagles have a big three, a solid bench and play as a team. That has helped them finish second in the Suburban Council South Division and earn the league’s No. 2 seed for the Section II, Class AA playoffs, which begin Wednesday.
`The bottom line is that we have to play well together on the court,` said head coach Mark Nealon. `Everyone has their identified role, (and) teamwork is very important.`
Megan Olsen can easily be compared to Ray Allen because she knows her role on the team ` not only to be a co-captain, but also to be there when the big shot needs to be taken.
`She knows when it is time for a big shot, or she knows that there needs to be a defensive stop,` said Nealon. `She takes on that role.`
Olsen can burn an opponent at the offensive end two ways ` by driving into the paint for layups and shooting three-pointers. She leads Bethlehem in both points per game and three-pointers made. According to Olsen, the best part of her game is `taking it to the basket and driving.`
If Olsen is Bethlehem’s version of Ray Allen, center Alex McCullough is Kevin Garnett. McCullough is averaging 11.9 points per game this season, mostly because of her ability to stretch opposing defenses with her perimeter shooting.
`Having her go out and be able to hit threes and being able to take a girl off the dribble has helped us tremendously,` remarked Nealon. `There have been a number of games this year where she has just presented an unbelievable mismatch for the other team.
`If you put someone out there like a power forward on her, she just took them out to the three-point line and drained them (three pointers). And if she needed to, if it was an undersized person, she would just go down to the block and post up,` he added.
McCullough has also embraced her role as the team’s other co-captain with Olsen. `I think that the girls know that they can come to us if they have a problem or anything like that. Everyone knows their role,` said McCullough.
Sophomore forward Jaci Oskam fills the same role on Bethlehem that Paul Pierce fills with the Celtics. She is a versatile player that can hit three-pointers with accuracy.
`Every now and then, I take a really long three-pointer, and I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I made it,’` said Oskam.
`She’s playing the three (small forward) and playing the four (power forward). She can handle the basketball, and she can shoot,` said Nealon.
Oskam has a vocal supporter in her mother, who attends every home game.
`I like knowing that she is there supporting me,` said Oskam. `It gives me more of a comfortable feeling. I like when people yell for me.`
Bethlehem is more than Oskam, Olsen and McCullough, though. Senior guard Taylor Teal is one of the team’s top defenders and good at passing the ball ` a Rajon Rondo type, to continue the Celtics comparisons.
`Defense ` that is my job,` said Teal. `I don’t want my girls to get past me, and that is my No. 1 thing. No matter what, she is not getting past me.`
`On the defensive end, she has got a lot of energy. She can defend anybody, she’s strong, she’s quick and she’s got good size for a guard,` said Nealon.
Teal can also score points when the opportunity presents itself. `She absolutely can score. She gets a lot of her points off steals and in transition, but she (also) has a decent jump shot,` said Nealon. `It’s just a matter of consistency with her right now.`
Starting guard Caitlin Dole is equally capable of knocking down key shots, especially from behind the three-point arc. In that way, Dole can be compared to Eddie House, who knocked down 117 three-pointers for the Celtics last year.
`I usually just take a jump shot because I know I can make it,` said Dole.
`Teams don’t play us (in) zone (coverage) a lot because I think they are fearful of people like Caitlin Dole shooting threes,` said Nealon.
Beyond the starting five, Bethlehem has a deep bench that Nealon can turn to.
`They all do a great job, so when one of (the starters) comes out, then that person knows that they have to step up and fill the shoes of whoever they came in for,` said Teal.
Junior Rosie McKee is usually one of the first players off the bench for Bethlehem. The forward’s role usually revolves around playing strong defense in the paint.
`I have been pretty consistent with defense,` said McKee, who helps out with blocked shots. `It’s really cool because I can use my height to my advantage, and it’s really cool being in that position.`
Reserve center Tracey Koch has shown potential in the low post, too. Studying with McCullough, Koch has learned how to score points near the basket and pull down rebounds.
`She (McCullough) has taught me a whole bunch of new moves to do,` said Koch. `She just helps me get better.`
Paula Gadomski, Abby Lawler and Julie Landrigan round out Bethlehem’s bench. Gadomski said she is `pretty good at (shooting) threes and driving to the hoop,` much like former Celtic James Posey. Lawler can be compared to Tony Allen, especially with her ability to pass the ball and find the open person. And Landrigan is Bethlehem’s version of Glen Davis with her ability to post up defenders near the basket and hit short-range jump shots.
`I’m tall, and I have a good jump shot, so I can post up pretty well,` said Landrigan. `But if they put a good big girl on me, I’ll just take it (away from the basket) and use my jump shot.`
Bethlehem will try to use its `big three` and its deep bench to win the Class AA title. The Lady Eagles reached the Sectional finals last year before losing to Shenendehowa, so they have the championship mentality in place.
Olsen, for one, knows it won’t be easy. `A lot of teams are so competitive. There aren’t two teams that stand out or anything. Anyone can beat anyone,` she said.
Still, `If we play the way that we can play, no one can beat us,` said Teal.
Bethlehem hosts Queensbury Wednesday. “