Phoenix Experience and Talent Forecast Strong Season

The Phoenix, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity basketball team, started their season off strong, winning back-to-back games against the High School of Fashion Industries and A. Philip Randolph Campus High School. Their opening games have set the tone for a promising season from a team full of both seasoned players and fresh talent despite a rocky start.

The team ran into some issues during their offseason. One obstacle was getting the team back into a basketball mindset, according to senior and co-captain Ally Archer. “I know for a lot of people on the team, myself included, we hadn’t touched a basketball in almost a year,” said Archer, stressing the importance of bring the team’s skills back up to par. The team made use of several offseason scrimmages to identify issues early on and fix them before the season started. “There had been issues with passing and shooting the ball without using the shot clock, which I wanted us to try and improve upon,” Archer elaborated.

Another issue that the Phoenix faced was a shorter time to practice during the offseason. A number of players on the team play more than one sport, including volleyball, and the overlap between the playoff season for volleyball and the offseason for basketball took away some time. Several players were also unable to practice due to injuries. Despite these setbacks, senior and co-captain Talia Kirshenbaum seemed confident that the team more than broke even. “We lost some valuable time, but I think we’ve been making up for it with a lot of basic training,” Kirshenbaum said.

The team’s coach, Vincent Miller, stressed the importance of the team’s mental and physical strength this season. “Since late October, the team has been preparing to play with a higher level of aggression and intensity,” coach Miller said. Miller feels confident in the team and is holding high expectations for their performance this season, believing that this year will mark the team’s sixth consecutive time entering playoffs. “We have learned and reviewed all of our plays so that every player knows their role during the game,” Miller said.

These efforts led to a two win streak. The team’s game against the High School of Fashion Industries, especially, saw a strong performance across the team. Archer, in particular, stood out with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.

Though the team lost some experienced players who graduated last June, including former captain Shannon Lau (‘18), the current athletes are confident that they will be able to fill these gaps. “One thing that has stood out to me so far is how strong the rookies are,” Kirshenbaum said. This year’s rookies are freshman Paige Wolfing, freshman Alison Chan, and sophomore Maya Sundarajan.

Archer spoke favorably of each of them. “Maya has been really consistent with her shot around the paint. Paige is really strong and willing to bring the ball up or drive to the basket,” Archer said. “Alison, as many of us on the team have determined, is very similar to Shannon. She is a great ball handler and amazing at finding the best passes to an open player.”

The team also came out with a 52-18 win against Lois Brandeis High School on December 7, which was then offset by a 54-41 loss to Millennium High School four days later. “Millennium High School is our biggest rival simply because they challenge us the most,” Miller said. Despite the loss, members of the team remain optimistic.

“We lost by 13, but we were losing by 20+ for most of the game,” senior shooting guard/point guard Britni Canale said.

Ultimately, the combination of experience and fresh vitality that the roster holds puts the Phoenix in a strong position for the rest of the season. It is now up to the players to deliver.