Common perception in basketball circles is that it’s easier to score 1,000 points in college then in high school, as the timelines work more in favor of the college athlete.

As a high schooler, you have to fight growth and development. Some players aren’t ready to contribute heavily until their junior and senior years — that’s typically where you’ll see the most improvement in scoring over those class years.

In college, especially at the Division III level, a large amount of coaches recruit based on need and fit. Most cases you’ll find a player that excelled his junior and senior year in high school — say, they scored 15 ppg a game or more — contribute right away.

Take Delone Catholic graduate Nick Brady. He’s a perfect example. Brady wasn’t ready to contribute for the Squires as a freshman and only really began to come on strong as a senior. Still, he didn’t reach 1,000 in his career with Delone.

But recruited to play right away at York College, he broke the 1,000 point barrier as a junior last season.

Because of that four year span of consistent playing time, players naturally will have a greater opportunity to score 1,000 in their collegiate careers.

But 2,000 points? Hey, that’s a different story.

Fairfield graduate Lauren Beckley recently broke the barrier at Shippensburg University. She became just the ninth player in the history of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to achieve that feat. She’s also on pace to break the all-time scoring mark with the Red Raiders and has an outside shot to break the all-time women’s scoring mark in the entire PSAC.

What’s more difficult? Breaking the 2,000 barrier in high school or 2,000 in college?

It’s a very tough question, one that simply can’t be measured in any definitive way. But I’m going to get into this subject a little bit down the road. Consider this a discussion on hold for now.

Shippensburg Sports Information: Senior women’s basketball forward Lauren Beckley (Fairfield/Fairfield) became just the ninth player in the history of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to achieve 2,000 career points on Tuesday afternoon from Fleming Hall but the Lady Raiders dropped their fourth-straight game to a WVIAC opponent with a frenzied 87-81 loss to West Virginia State.

Through 95 career games, Beckley has compiled 2,015 points, an average of 21.2 per contest. She is 35 points behind Ashley Totedo (Swanson) and 42 points behind SU’s all-time leading scorer Stacey Cunningham (Dellinger), a duo that ranks seventh and eighth respectively among the conference’s record books.

My oh my, how things have changed in the once challenging YAIAA Division IV.

After Delone Catholic made the switch to III before the start of last season, thereby shifting York Catholic down to IV, it’s left the division looking like a leftover dish of meatloaf.

Right now, Hanover is the only respectable team with a record worth noting. The Hawks are playing very well in the early going and have a 4-1 record to show for it. They’ve beaten a pretty decent Delone Catholic club twice and also have a 3-0 league record.

They aren’t as much surprising for those of us who saw how they improved last year. But for the many who are just beginning to see the writing on the wall, at least you’re seeing it. Hanover is a legitimate force in Division IV.

They have an emerging go-to scorer in Ben Connor, a steady and effective point guard in Pete Yingst, capable outside shooters in Brandon Wentz and Shea Staub, and one of those unheralded glue guys in Matt Bossalina. The bench right now only goes three deep, but good thing about that situation is that those same three players provide the height Hanover will need to challenge the top-flight players in the YAIAA II.

The bench is actually pretty impressive: Harry Shultz (6-foot-2), Tyler Kiick (6-foot-3) and Billy Hill (6-foot-2). Shultz could easily be starting for a lot of teams in the YAIAA and Kiick is one of those Stromile Swift-type — OK, I realize I just compared him to an NBA player — athletes that uses much of his ability on the defensive side of the ball.

As for the other four teams…

Where to start?

A combined 0-18 overall.

Biglerville (0-4), York Catholic (0-3), Fairfield (0-5) and York Tech (0-6) are all looking for that elusive first win.

The Irish are the most capable of challenging Hanover in the division. In reality, they aren’t going to stay winless that long.

But as for the others, it could be awhile.

Biglerville, Fairfield and York Tech will all fight very hard to keep away from that goosegg.

It’s still too early to treat the opening one-sixth (roughly) of the season as an end-all for predicted success rate through the high school basketball season. But with two weeks of hoop nearly complete, there are several things that need to be addressed.

Mainly, which teams are blowing the socks off early expectation?

The answer is quite a few.

Early revelation: We need to start first with a New Oxford girls’ team that’s currently 4-1, 1-0 in the YAIAA Division I, after a win last night over Northeastern (0-5).

Who would have thought that for a team that lost two big starters in Erin O’Brien and Sam Witman last season, the Colonials would continue to excel with a mostly young and inexperienced crew returning.

Well, there’s no getting past what Julia Antonelli has done at the school so far. In her first three games, the senior, who has started since midway through her freshman year, averaged 19 points per game in two wins. She punched in 17 more last night against the Wildcats. If she continues to score about 15 points per game through the year (22 games), she’ll effectively scribble her name into New Oxford history, reaching the 1,000 point club. She needed in the range of 300 points this season to reach that mark. And so far, she’s done it. I’m not even including postseason play, which logically could come if New Oxford continues to improve.

The more telling detail out of her scoring prowess has been the way the Colonials have responded as a team. No one would have expected a 4-1 record after five games, probably not even head coach Brandon Horick. This team is comprised of one wiley senior and a slew of eager-to-impress sophomores and freshman. Yet, New Oxford is undefeated in the conference and could be a threat down the line.

Another Division I hopeful: If New Oxford is a case of youthful ignorance, South Western is the opposite extreme. They, too, were slightly overlooked entering the season. But after a strong 3-0 start, 1-0 in the YAIAA Division I, the Mustangs are in the same boat as the Colonials. Only they’re doing it with a crop of seniors, one (Emily Smith) who came off an ACL injury last season.

Two more players, Kayla Latham and and Sarah Snyder, are also coming off ACL injuries and are contributing.

Smith is averaging 13 points per game, though that number could be higher if she wasn’t shooting 35 percent from the free throw line (7-for-20). Natalie Greenholt is averaging 11 per game and Kera Hill is at 9 per game. Between those three seniors, they makeup 71 percent of the team’s scoring.

In a way, there are equal parts good and bad to that statistic. While it’s good that the base scoring has come from the Mustangs most experienced players, it’s slightly concerning knowing that if one goes down, the scoring may as well.

Keeping the starters healthy must be the No. 1 objective for head coach Shannon Geiman. If South Western can do that, they have the ability to challenge Red Lion at the top.

Don’t forget about the stalwarts: While it’s great to mention the surprising league players this season, I would be remiss if I didn’t give praise to two teams who continue to exceed their big expectations entering the season.

The Delone Catholic girls’ team stands at 3-0 after a recent win over Eastern York last night (40-28). It was a result that began to show the kind of fight the Squirettes might have this season. It was a physical game, but Delone was able to get it done. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

As for Spring Grove (4-1), who leads Division II at 2-1, they are very balanced on both ends of the court. Two big wins — one buzzer-beater in the opening tip-off tournament and another last night against Dallastown — have given the Rockets the belief that nothing has changed from a year ago, when they reached the state playoffs.

Codi McMaster had 18 against the Wildcats last night, but this team will be interchangable with scoring. Cari McMaster and Meghan Mahon will have opportunities to provide support on the offensive end.

The only concern, at least right now, has to be the overall ability of Spring Grove to score the basketball. Through three games the team was only putting in 31 points per game, a meager number that simply could not stand for the rest of the season. The good news is that Spring Grove punched in 21 points in the second quarter of last night’s game and 54 for the game.

Two more players in Division III: Not sure how Littlestown and Bermudian Springs will figure in Division III, but for right now they’re in good standing.

On paper, it seems the Eagles have the composite players to make a run — operative word “run” — for the division. They have a proficient scorer in sophomore Paige Dennison (15 ppg through 3) and a decent post player in Rachael Kotula (7.6 ppg).

But Littlestown has trio of players who can score on any given night. Kelsey Wantz (14.6 through 3) scored 22 last night in a win over Hanover. Samantha Henrie (13.3) had 15 and Breeann Hall (9) had nine.

Playoff picture: By factoring in the records of the girls’ teams in the Hanover area, six are on pace to reach the District 3 playoffs in their respective classifications. Now, for some teams, schedule has played an important part to their early success. No team has been entrenched in the thick of their division just yet. That’s important to understand. But if all continues at its pace, we would have six girls teams in the playoffs — three in Class AAAA, two in Class AAA and one in Class AA. The figurative number to look for in terms of potential playoff teams is 11-11. A .500 record will typically allow you to reach the postseason, though it’s only a jumping off point and not a sure-on guarantee.

For a girl that wowed York and Adams County on the basketball court last year, Sierra Moore’s best days are still way ahead of her.

Yes, even after scoring 500+ points in her freshman year and earning a third team All-State selection. Even after helping Delone Catholic reach the semifinals of the District 3 tournament and into the PIAA Class AA tournament, there’s room for growth.

Squirettes head coach Gerry Eckenrode saw it over the offseason, and only days before the season, told me she’d gotten better.

One important transition was in the AAU circuit, where she shifted from the Gettysburg Chili organization to a Philadelphia based Rebel’s team.

A copious amount of games over the summer also allowed her on-court awareness to improve, as did her jump shot and pull-up jumper. She said Monday she put up nearly 500 per day in preparing for this season.

Her ability to create space — mostly through her physical intuition — has always been there. So has her penchant for crashing into the lane with an abandon.

But the fine-tuning is more noticeable this season.

“She’s bigger and quicker than she was last year,” Eckenrode said Monday after Delone had claimed a 40-28 win over Eastern York. “So she’s able to attack the basket better because of her size. And she’s a year older and a year stronger. She’s an exceptional talent.”

An evidence was clearly visible Monday night against Eastern York in McSherrystown. At no point did it feel as if Moore was trying in excess to create shots for herself.

And that’s the difference from last year to this season.

There’s a certain ease to her game, like she’s working through the reads with a mysterious calmness.

Through three games, all Delone wins, Moore has 64 points, which averages out to 21 points per game.

She grabbed five boards and had three assists on Monday, too.

Fellow sophomore Maria Photiades is the Squirettes traditional point guard on the floor in most cases, but Moore handles a fair share of the duties, especially in the fourth quarter if the game is in doubt.

On Monday, Delone went to a 1-4 low offense in the fourth quarter for several possessions, which saw Moore isolated centrally behind the three-point line.

She was given the opportunity to take her defender 1-on-1 and create for herself or dish out to the wing, where a shooter would be waiting for the kick-out.

In two occassions, Moore was awarded a trip to the foul line. In another, she fed senior Chelsea Hoffman for a three-pointer that put the Squirettes up 11, 34-23.

Though it seemed the offense stalled Delone more than it helped, it’s a great base system to have when all else fails. It proves to be especially critical in those crucial moments, when you need a score and need someone to step up. It’s there, in part, to allow your best player to go to work.

And so far, that’s what Moore has done this season.

On Wednesday night, the South Western boys’ basketball team rode an exhilarating turn of events in the final seconds of regulation, using a Matt Hockenberry three-pointer as time expired to platform a near-loss into an eight point victory over Gettysburg.

Hockenberry nailed a three-pointer from the left corner as the clock buzzer rang through South Western High, pushing the Mustangs into overtime, where they rushed out on a 9-2 run.

Gettysburg didn’t respond, and now sits even at 2-2, same as South Western.

In this video, South Western senior Matt Hockenberry dicusses the late game heroics, specifically the play, the team strategy and the process behind the shot.

Enjoy.

I like this nickname, by the way. “Big Shot Hock.” Can we forward this to baseball season somehow? “Big Shot Hock” Get it! Division I (Temple) recruit!

After listing the Top 10 boys basketball players over the weekend yesterday, I promised to continue with a girls list today. I have no qualms with doing that.

Without further adieu, the Top 10 girls basketball players from games over the weekend. These girls could, and probably should, play a strong role for their teams in the upcoming season.

The List:

1. Julia Antonelli, New Oxford, senior: She’s basically a four-year starter, and now it’s her team this year. Antonelli almost single-handedly gave the Lady Colonials an opening win against Shippensburg (49-47), scoring 27 points. She added 13 in the consolation, a win over York Suburban.

2. Sierra Moore, Delone Catholic, sophomore: What did you expect? In the sophomore’s debut, she scored 29 points, leading the Squirettes past Bishop McDevitt in a non tip-off tournament opener. Entering the season, she was as much a guarantee to produce at grapefruit-sized levels then anyone in the league outside of York Catholic’s Kady Schrann.

3. Paige Dennison, Bermudian Springs, sophmore: It’s the year of the sophomores, I suppose. And Dennison is no shortage of talent. She led the Lady Eagles in scoring last year and came back to put up 20 in the team’s opener before adding 14 in the finale of Bermudian’s tournament win over Dover.

4. Brianna Thomas, Gettysburg, sophomore: Another sophomore, Thomas is expected to lead the Warriors this season in more ways than one. She notched 10 points against York Suburban in her first game, but only 7 in a win over Shippensburg the next night. Here’s a problem Gettysburg will willingly take: They have another sophomore by the name of Destinee Reid who could be the ying to Thomas’ yang.

5. Courtney Riggs, Delone Catholic, senior: Hey, Moore can’t be a one-woman-show, can she? If the Squirettes hope to dig deep into the postseason, the answer is no. Riggs came up with 14 points on six field goals in Delone’s opener against McDevitt, proving she’s got the brawn to Moore’s finesse.

6. Toni Harbaugh, Fairfield: The Lady Knights should struggle this year, but Harbaugh will put up some numbers. In two wins over the weekend, Harbaugh tallied 24 points, 13 coming in a three-point win over Harrisburg Christian (35-32).

7. Emily Smith, South Western, senior: Back from injury, the senior is expected to be the piece that makes the Lady Mustangs a playoff team this season. As for the weekend, there is some good news, and some bad. I only have one box score at my disposal right now, which is what I’m gauging my analysis on. Seems like the Lady Mustangs are much better with Smith, as they took her 15 points in an opening win over Coatesville (56-25). But Smith went 1-for-13 at the line. Yikes! Hack-a-Smith perhaps?

8. Codi McMaster, Spring Grove, senior: Sure didn’t take long for McMaster to flaunt her stuff. The senior produced the Rockets game-winner over Hempfield in the opener and her six points in the following game — also a win — gave her the MVP trophy at Spring Grove. She put up 10 in the first game, 16 in two games.

9. Samantha Henrie, Littlestown: Oh Henrie. That’s a candy bar, right? Littlestown might have some pieces this year if the first two games are any indication. Henrie tallied lines of 17 and 14 in two wins to open up the season.

10. Rachael Kotula, Bermudian Springs, senior: Kotula is a big reason why the Lady Eagles could surprise in the YAIAA this season, and potentially down the road. She’s a legitimate post scorer and proved it Friday night (17 points), before struggling the next night (6 points).

Honorable mention: Destinee Reid, Gettysburg; Chelsea Hoffman, Delone Catholic; Kelsey Wantz, Littlestown, Natalie Greenholt, South Western;

Maybe the appropriate phrase for this space is such: “Spartans, arm yourselves!”

Actually, that “300″ reference makes no sense in this case….unless we’re referring to York College, which we’re not. But for some reason, the few young and ebullient York Catholic fans that showed up in McSherrystown for the Delone Catholic-York Catholic game on Tuesday night kept chanting it before every Irish free throw.

Shouldn’t the appropriate phrase have been: “Arg! Let’s raise our glasses!” Just kidding. I don’t condone underage drinking.

In any case, the lively bunch made for an entertaining sideshow to what ended up being, to date, the best game I’ve seen this season.

They were dead silent after Delone Catholic converted on their fourth three-pointer of the fourth quarter, a shot that gave the Squires the game’s go-ahead points with 12 ticks left. The final score read: Delone Cathlic 45, York Catholic 44.

The Squires scored 14 points in the final minute, including four three-pointers. One by junior Mark Staub, who played a little varsity last year. One by Brett Smith, the Squires freshman point guard. And two by junior Cody Kump, who was in his third varsity game ever.

Austin Brady started the comeback with 59.8 left, punching in a put-back to cut the lead to five. But he fouled out with 44.4 to go, leaving a largely inexperienced group on the floor to get it done.

Maybe it was a blessing.

Brady is the go-to guy…but his team is going to need to prove they can play, too.

And they did.

York Catholic was up by seven with a little over a minute to go. However, it dwindled quickly after this quick strike Delone offense went to work. The Irish, meanwhile, kept hitting the front- or second-ends of 1-and-1s, prolonging the game and keeping the Squires within reach.

How did Delone secure this win, especially in such a quick time? They went to their manic-based offense, which gave Smith, who had his fair share of trouble Tuesday night, the ability to create on the fly. Smith dished out two assists in the final minute, including the one that went to Kump, who drilled the go-ahead three with 12 seconds to go.

Smith had four assists on the night, had six on Saturday against Hanover and two in his season debut. As far as rating his play through the first three games, I think it’s an overwhelming success. Even though he’s 5-foot-8, the kid can flat out play. He’s got a varsity body, has veteran skills and knows how to run a team.

He’s out of the Delone Catholic system, too, according to head coach Jim Dooley, so the naysayers can back off the “Delone recruits” talk.

Oddly enough, the Squires gave York Catholic a chance to win it at the end. After the free-for-all when Kump hit his three with 12 seconds to go, Delone forgot to stop fouling. They sent Gary Laucks (game-high 19 points) to the line with 7.5 seconds left.

But the Irish junior missed on both attempts. York Catholic went 6-for-10 in the final minute.

Smith was fouled in the ensuing seconds, too, and missed the front end of his 1-and-1.

But Ryan Tompkins (8 points) came up big for Delone, deflecting two passes out of the hands of York Catholic to seal the victory for the Squires.

“I thought we defended like terrors the whole night,” Dooley said.

Through two games, we can’t really come to any definitive conclusions about teams. But we can surely put together some great reads on players.

The opening slate of tournaments allowed us to look at the players who may play a significant role on their teams this season.

Below, I list 10 players from this past weekend’s set of games who might have the greatest impact on their teams this season.

I’ll get to the girls’ list tomorrow.

The List:

1. Ben Connor, Hanover, senior: This wasn’t so much surprising as it was eye-popping. Who knew Connor was going to be this good, this early. He sparked the Hawks with 20 points in their 73-32 win over Fairfield on Friday and added a career-high 25 points on Saturday in a 48-45 win over Delone Catholic. Afterward, Connor was chatting it up with what looked to be an Eastern University scout. Update: With some research, that statement can be verified. Connor was speaking with Eastern representative Eric Houston after the game.

2. Austin Brady, Delone Catholic, senior: Despite a setback to Hanover on Saturday, Brady proved he was the Squires go-to scoring option late in the game. Through two games, he’s tallied 12 points and 14 points. He’s also been a distributor and rebounder for a team that looks pretty impressive through two games.

3. Bryce Harbold, Spring Grove, junior: In leading the Rockets to two wins at Lower Dauphin over the weekend, Harbold scored 16 and 18. One of Spring Grove’s most consistent players from last season, the junior should be counted on similarly this season.

4. Ryan Tompkins, Delone Catholic, senior: There is reason why Delone has a solid footing early in the season and it not only has to do with Brady, but in Tompkins as well. He perhaps is the Squires glue piece, as he scored 10 and 16 in two games. He’s a player that makes good cuts, scoops up boards and put-backs and provides nonstop energy.

5. Aaron Yealy, New Oxford: Perhaps I was wrong about New Oxford. After using evidence from last season, I suspected senior Jake Yealy could be the Colonials big scoring option this year. Apparently, that’s wrong. His brother is. Yealy scored 17 and 11 in two losses.

6. Caleb Joyce, Gettysburg, senior: The Warriors split two at their tip-off tournament, beating New Oxford in the consolation, and Joyce was a big reason why. The senior point guard opened with a 12 point game and later added a 10 point excursion.

7. Austin Brumfield, Bermudian Springs: Bermudian Springs crushed Susquenita in their first encounter (51-29) and proceeded to get crushed in their second against Dover (50-23). Brumfield had 10 in Game 1, 6 in Game 2. The Eagles are questionable, but hey, Brumfield has talent.

8. Parker Bean, South Western: The Mustangs couldn’t fight off James Buchanon in their opener, but responded with a knockout to Big Spring (42-23). Bean headlined, scoring 19 in the loss and 12 in the win. Odds are, Bean will have a strong season.

9. Matt Koontz, Littlestown, senior: In a loss to New Hope Academy, Koontz led the Bolts with 20 points. In a win against Biglerville, he put in 15. Teamed with Matt Zuber, Littlestown could have a dangerous combo.

10. Mike Adams, Spring Grove: The Rockets scored an 85-82 OT win over Cedar Crest in the finale of the Falcon’s Tip-Off tournament and Adams presumably swept up tournament MVP honors after 38 points in two games — 24 against Cedar Crest. Adams is certainly a player gauging by two games. But jury’s out on how tough Spring Grove actually is this season. Makes you wonder, though. If Nathan Bollinger doesn’t transfer to Eastern York, are the Rockets a playoff team?

Notables: Matt Zuber, Littlestown (12, 20), Mark Hockenberry, South Western (8, 8), Chase King, Getysburg, (12, 7), Corry Knupp, Spring Grove (5, 19)

Here’s a very informative nugget for you.

Through 77 games before Saturday, Millersville University senior center/forward and New Oxford graduate Alen Ahmetovic had never scored in double-figures.

Never.

Not once.

Crazy thing, the points that gave him his career-high 11 on Saturday? They were the go-ahead points that gave Millersville a 62-59 win over Virginia State and pushed the Marauders to 5-1 on the season.

Millersville took a setback to Goldey-Beacom yesterday, 66-52, and Ahmetovic had a more reserved line (2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist).

But his career-high day is worth noting. The 6-foot-4 center/forward walked-on with Millersville in 2006, after leaving New Oxford to play football for the Marauders.

Yet Ahmetovic never ended up on the field for Millersville. Instead, he took a chance with a game he loved and decided to lace up the high-tops for four more years of hoops.

Ahmetovic, always considered one of those hard-worker types, worked his way up the latter and started in 19 games as a junior. In 27 games, he averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds. Last season, he had a career-high 11 rebounds and then-career-high nine points against East Stroudsburg.

Miller having dazzling freshman debut: Another New Oxford graduate, 6-foot-8 Carson Miller, is having a strong start to his freshman year at Mount Saint Vincent’s. The center was recently named as the Skyline Conference Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game for the Mount.

He recorded a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds in his first official collegiate game against Lehman and since then is averaging 9.5 points per game and 5.8 boards per contest.

As for Delone Catholic graduate Nick Brady, he continues to have an incredible senior season.

The York College senior scored 22 points in a huge win over St. Mary’s on Saturday, hitting the game-winning three-pointer with four seconds left on the clock for the Spartans, who have since then won another game and are now at 9-1.

He was named on the Capital Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player-of-the-Week Honor Roll after leading York to two conference wins over the past week.

The 6-foot-2 senior is putting down 20.3 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Spartans, who are edging on the border of the District 3 National Rankings.

Gettysburg College Sports Information photo

For the men, who lost three straight games to open up the season, they’ve found their rhythm over the past four games, going 3-1 with wins over Johns Hopkins, Haverford and Widener.

They’re currently fourth in the Centennial Conference — where they were projected to finish — just behind the likes of Muhlenburg, McDaniel and Franklin & Marshall.

One of the main reasons for Gettysburg’s surge is the play of Andrew Powers, who through three games was averging 13 points per game. In his last three, the preseason All-American pick has blown up, putting down 25, 20 and 29 en route to a Conference Player of the Week nod.

Only a junior, Powers broke past the 1,000 point barrier in the win against Haverford. He’s on pace to position himself within the top five of the scoring list by season’s end, ahead of graduate Dan Capkin, who ended his career last season with 1,514 points.

But another player has emerged, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Freshman Alex Zurn has had his struggles through seven games, but Gettysburg head coach George Petrie has kept his faith in the flame-haired scorer. He’s started every game and is presently the team’s third leading scorer (10.0), behind Kevin Kennedy (10.6) and Powers (18.7).

In the Bullets most recent win over Widener (79-71), Zurn turned in a career-high in points, punching in 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He also muscled down seven boards, had three assists and a block.

He, along with Powers, Kennedy, Brendan Hager — and it seems Paul Crone — comprise of the team’s starting five, one which should be solidified at this point.

It seems as though Petrie varies his rotation depending on production , but this unit seems like the most logical fit to the team’s system right now.

Freshman Larry Geedey, another red-haired fireball, has contributed at point for Hager, and Brendan Trelease and Andrew Bohan have seen considerable time on the court as well. They remain important pieces to the overall picture, because as a part of the bench, their play determines the overall effectiveness of the team as a whole. If the bench doesn’t produce, the pressure then falls solely on the starters. And that can’t happen if the Bullets expect to compete in the long run.

As for now, though, the season has hit a lull. The Bullets will see a three week hiatus since the end of the semester calls for a break in action. At this point the Bullets have left on good terms. And if Gettysburg can continue to play at this level when play resumes on January 2, the Bullets will have a legitimate chance to contend for another Centennial Conference title.

Yet, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. The Bullets, outside of Powers and Kennedy and Hager, are still young and have room to improve.

As for the women, their season has been nothing short of spectacular thus far. The Bullets are 8-0 and leading the Centential at 5-0. Seems like head coach Mike Kirkpatrick isn’t letting the past affect how his team is playing this season. There’s been no thought about how that campaign ended — without a playoff berth. Everything so far has been positive growth, positive energy and wins, wins, wins.

The Bullets have been outstanding, ringing wins off from York, Johns Hopkins, Haverford, Franklin & Marshall and Ursinus.

Nothing’s been close so far, which could be something to watch out for in the future with fixtures remaining against two-time conference champ Muhlenburg on the 14th of January and McDaniel on the 20th.

But here’s how Gettysburg stacks up right now in the conference: third in scoring (65.8), first in scoring defense (41.5), second in free throw percentage (73 percent), first in field goal percentage (41 percent), third in three point percentage (35 percent), first in assists (16 per game), first in steals (16 per game) and first in turnover margin (plus 8).

You can go down the list, but Gettysburg is near or at the top of almost every statistical category imaginable.

You can bet this team, heavy on seniors and veterans, is eyeing up a regular season conference crown.

However, this is where I will stop. I have a column going in Friday’s paper about the women’s incredible start to the season. Make sure to give it a look.