Sussex Academy girls’ basketball excited to reveal off-season work
Following their most successful season in five years, the Sussex Academy girls’ basketball team believes the program is on the rise.
“We're feeling really good this year; we had a lot of freshmen come out, so that's always good for a growing team to have for the next few years,” said senior Emiley Bisaha. “We'll get a lot better because we have more time to develop our freshmen.”
Bisaha will be joined in the backcourt by fellow senior Falisha Amisial, who developed an outside shot last year to complement Bisaha’s fearless driving to the cup.
“Everything seems like it's gonna go pretty well,” Amisial said. “I'm pretty excited for the season.”
Both girls credit coach Rayona Benson with guiding the team in the right direction.
“I really love playing for coach Ray; she's definitely one of my favorite basketball coaches ever,” Bisaha said.
“She’s a great coach; I love her to death,” Amisial said.
Benson has earned the trust of her two seniors, but she doesn’t play favorites when it comes to her expectations.
“It was young last year and those younger players have grown a lot, and we came in with more younger players,” Benson said of the team. “I'm hoping this year to get everybody to grow, get everybody some time, and I'm looking forward to a good, exciting team.”
Similar to the boys, the young players injected into the program had some success in middle school, notching 14 wins over their three years. Another reason for hope is the play of sophomore Grayce Glover, who dominated the glass during the Sussex Central scrimmage.
“She literally just left off last year and came out here and started grabbing every single rebound,” Benson said of Glover, noting her youth as well.
The Seahawks will welcome the improvements to the front court but will start their game in the backcourt.
“We are really heavy in guard play, but we are experienced in guard play,” Benson said.
Benson will rely on Amisial and Bisaha to lead the girls on and off the court.
“They just came in and set the tone from day one,” Benson said. “They came in during defensive slides, and they were like, ‘Listen, this is what you do’ and ‘Look at me do this.’”
Sussex Academy will open its season against crosstown rival Delmarva Christian at 4 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, in the first game of a girls/boys doubleheader between the two schools.
