2022-2023 Liberty Regular Season Champion: McLean/Langley
2022-2023 Liberty District Tournament Champion: McLean
2023-2024 Novahoops.com Presumptive Favorite: Langley/McLean
What’s New In 2023-2024: Long-time coach Pat Deegan takes over at McLean, while former Annandale coach Maddy DeCou takes the helm at Washington-Liberty.
The Langley Saxons were a fairly young team last season. Nevertheless, they were also a very successful team, going 20-6 and advancing to the regional semifinals. With only a couple of seniors departed, there’s no reason to think the Saxons won’t again be a 20-win team.
It’s a different team, though, and Coach Amanda Baker says she will institute a new offense to better utilize her players’ strengths. Regardless of the offense, talented junior Anya Rahman figures to get her share of touches. A combo guard capable of scoring in bunches, Rahman was among the most prolific scorers in the area even as an underclassman. A student of the game, she figures to be a strong candidate for Liberty District Player of the Year the next couple of years.
Returning alongside Rahman are several key starters. Sophomore Madison Shamloo performed well as a very young player, mostly at point guard last season.
“Her defense was good [last season],” says Baker. “Now we expect more offense from her.”
That would take some pressure off Rahman to score. So would the continued development of physical small forward Bri Borcherding and power forward Peyton Daley. The senior Borcherding is a relentless, hard-worker who can play inside and out, while the junior Daley is a promising player that has flashed the ability to control the paint and score inside. Increased consistency and efficiency from both is likely.
There is depth, with some of the other returning Saxons very likely ready to take a significant leap. Baker mentions sophomores Victoria Zawisza and sharpshooting Ava Tayebi as players that should see a lot more minutes this season, and seems excited about junior Maeve Christie’s potential. Christie is a tall guard that Baker says has a “strong skillset.”
Those and other returnees, plus three new freshmen on the roster this season, seem to have some significant upside. As does the team in general. Once again the floor is high for Langley, as is the Saxons’ ceiling.
The McLean Highlanders, like Langley, are powered by their young talent. At McLean, the driving force behind the girls program this year is a strong junior class.
The class is headed by Tatum Olson, a strong all-around player. She’s a physically strong wing who can handle the ball, shoot, and create her own shot on the drive. She’s good on the defensive end as well, as her opponents will attest to. Vilte Kacerauskaite, another junior, is a very tall forward who played with the Lithuanian 16-and-under team. She’s a very skilled finesse player who can shoot and handle the ball like a guard.
Alyssa Evans is yet another returning junior with a lot of court experience. She’s not afraid to mix it up on the boards and is another good defender. Also back from last year are juniors Brooke Mattis, Macy Crawford, and Allyson Hodder. Those three didn’t get as many minutes as Evans, Olson, and Kacerauskaite last year, but they figure to step into expanded roles this season.
The most consequential new face is longtime coach Pat Deegan, who takes over for Jen Sobota at the Highlanders’ helm. Sobota decided to give up coaching for the time being to focus on her administrative career.
“When I left [Fairfax a couple of years ago] I figured I was probably done,” says Deegan, who has over 750 career wins at the high school level. “But if a good opportunity opened up I thought, maybe not. This is a good opportunity.”
“A lot of good young players played a lot of minutes last season.”
There are some seniors on hand as well, like Ava Stewart and 6’1″ Caroline Koelliker, who Deegan says has looked very good in the offseason. There’s no doubt Deegan is excited to coach the team, and he’s excited about the rivalry with Langley as well.
“It’s sort of like Army-Navy,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what the teams have, it’s a rivalry game. Those are what make sports special.”
Langley and McLean have traditionally strong programs. In recent years Yorktown, Herndon, and Marshall have fielded some competitive teams as well, but the other Arlington teams have remained an afterthought. That seems to be changing.
There is buzz around the Washington-Liberty Generals this season. They lost Coach Liz Altmaier, but assistant Maddy DeCou takes over to provide some continuity. Most of the roster from last year’s team returns as well–hence, the buzz.
“I feel very lucky to have this opportunity,” says DeCou. “It’s exciting to see, everyone has taken a jump…they [the players] saw how we competed in close games last year. They saw that they could compete if they work hard.”
Another jump in the standings this year seems likely for the Generals, who finished in a tie for fourth last year. Their talent base is impressive. Sophomore forward-center Eve Jungman is a 6’2″ center who brings a lot of skills to the table. She can score down low, has good footwork, and is a very good passer out of double teams. W-L ran offense through her last year and should do the same this season.
Sisters Frances and Harriet Shapiro are also back. They are primarily wings, but can also bring the ball up the court and match up with bigger players on defense if necessary. The Shapiros are both good shooters and scorers, capable of delivering double-digits in points nightly. Junior Julia Kelly is another returner that can fill it up from deep, while seniors Malek and Nour Ben Hammouda have also proven they can score and defend.
Like McLean, depth comes from a very solid junior class overall. DeCou says there is a lot of athleticism on hand, and her team will have ample opportunities to “own transition” this season. She also says athletic freshman point guard Kat Wagener will be a factor this year.
W-L beat a lot of solid teams last year, but not McLean or Langley. That could change this season.
The Wakefield Warriors were the team W-L finished tied with last season in the standings. The Warriors lost more important pieces than the Generals from last year, so we’re not sure if they’ll take a jump in the standings this season, but we definitely view them a program on the rise, as does Wakefield third-year coach Jacqueline Beathea.
“I’m proud of the girls,” says Beathea. “They’ve worked hard in the gym and with their classwork. We’re able to build off of what we started.”
Beathea has the luxury of 10 returning players this season. A very nice building block is sophomore point guard Dominique Harris. Harris earned lots of minutes as a freshman last season, impressing onlookers with her speed, ball-handling, and fearlessness. She’ll assume a bigger role this season, and Beathea is excited by what Harris can become by the time she is a senior.
Speaking of seniors, a big key to this season’s success will be the play and leadership of the Warriors’. Guard Helena Helms, a dangerous shooter, plus Samantha Stewart and Neela Spangler will play a lot and provide leadership.
“They have big shoes to fill,” Beathea says, referencing Wakefield’s departed senior class.
One of those departed players is forward GiGi Denton, but her sister Lilah is now on the roster with two other freshmen.
There’s a big learning curve here, to be sure, but there’s also solid program culture and talent.
The Herndon Hornets have been very competitive for most of the last decade. They finished third in the district but lose a significant senior class and only return six players. The talent is very young and inexperienced, but it’s there, to include sophomore guard Reagan Giuliano, who made the Liberty all-rookie team last year.
The Marshall Statesmen finished sixth last year and lost freshman sensation Adora Nwude to Bullis in the offseason, along with four other players. However, Marshall has a solid core of returnees, especially in the frontcourt, to include Emma South, Alexandra Nassif, and Anna Musgrove. The Statesmen should be solid.
The Yorktown Patriots had a disaster of a season last year in which they won just one game. At Yorktown, which has several strong girls programs in various sports, the basketball team’s success is highly dependent on which players tryout. There is young talent on hand and an experienced coach in DeVaughn Drayton, but the Patriots are rebuilding.
–Chris Jollay