Five Tonawanda-area girls will have one more chance to wow spectators with their skills as they were chosen to participate in the Cheektowaga Lions Club’s 12th annual Senior High School Ladies Basketball Classic.

Heading up the local contingent is Kenmore East’s Joelle Pollak. One of the top scorers in Section VI, Pollak became Kenmore East basketball’s all-time leading scorer after breaking both the girls and boys program records.

She averaged 22.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while leading the Bulldogs into the Section VI Class A semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Grand Island.

Veteran Tonawanda High School coach Jay Hall has again been selected to coach one of the all-star teams. He’ll coach the Justinettes team along with St. Mary’s Keith Junik and Amherst’s Mike Chatelle.

Meghan Kossow and Dee Bowers, two of Hall’s top players this season, will play in the Ladies Basketball Classic. Kossow led THS averaging 13.2 points a game, while Bowers drained 21 3-pointers on the season.

“It’s a great honor for our kids to get chosen. They only choose so many out of Section VI. It’s a great honor to have them on it and a great honor to be coaching it,” Hall said.

That two of his players were invited to participate shows what happens when a team is determined as Tonawanda has been the past few seasons. “It shows that when you work hard like these kids have the last two years, people notice you.”

It’s also a big positive for the Lady Warriors basketball program. “It’s just super for our program,” said Hall, whose Warriors finished 13-7 overall after exiting the Section VI Class B playoffs in the quarterfinals. “Tonawanda for a while really hasn’t been strong, but over the last three or four years, we’ve started to turn the program around. It speaks great of the kids and how hard they work.”

Also invited to this year’s classic are Mount St. Mary’s Jasmine Shabazz and Brianna Johnson. Shabazz averaged 8.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Thunder (14-13 overall), while Johnson averaged 10.2 points per game. She hit 22 3-pointers on the season.

This year’s all-star game will be played March 27 at Cheektowaga High School, with games tipping off at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. After each game, an MVP will be chosen from each team and, later in the year, a scholarship will be presented in the names of the MVPs to a deserving student from each of their schools.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students, and can be obtained by calling 685-1422.

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.



12th annual Senior HS Ladies Basketball Classic

WHEN: March 27

WHERE: Cheektowaga High School

TIMES: Lioness vs. Justinettes, 6:30 p.m.; Lions vs. Knights, 8:30 p.m.

TICKETS: $6 (adults), $4 (students). For tix, call 685-1422.

JUSTINETTES TEAM: Mary Cain (Niagara Catholic), Shanique Grasty (East), Meg DeMario (Holland), Sarah Federico (Holy Angels), Jasmine Shabazz (Mount St. Mary’s), Madeline Aikin (Maryvale), Erin O’Brien (Nardin), Valorie Nappo (Clarence), Devon Peace (Portville), Danaja Jones (Hutch-Tech), Julia Smith (Orchard Park). Coaches: Jay Hall (Tonawanda), Keith Junik (St. Mary’s), Mike Chatelle (Amherst)

LIONESS: Dee Bowers (Tonawanda), Miranda Fritz (Clarence), Julie Hagner (Hamburg), Jamie Nash (JFK), Grace Williamson (Olean), Stephanie Simmeth (St. Mary’s), Mary Scherrer (Grand Island), Jaimie Warren (Frontier), Emily Wendell (Fredonia), Kristin Wegrzyn (Grand Island). Coaches: Peter Hudecki (East), Chris Koselny (East Aurora), Dan Parker (Holland).

KNIGHTS: Jill Fitzner (Immac.), Jenna Majka (Depew), Caitlin Martin (All./Limestone), Bianca Smiley (Sweet Home), Rachel Bantelman (Olean), Jessica Curry (Wilson), Paige Golden (Albion), Brianna Smith (Nichols), Sarah Marcus (Will. South), Lindsay Stoddard (All./Limestone), Jaymie McCarley (Seneca MST). Coaches: Dave Sardo (Hutch-Tech), Marisa Fallacaro (Eden).

LIONS: Tiauna Young (East), Katherine Purcell (Mount Mercy), Kristen Hall (Holy Angels), Brianna Johnson (Mount St. Mary’s), Becca Rumschik (Will. East), Joelle Pollak (Kenmore East), Shaquita Smith (Amherst), Meghan Kossow (Tonawanda), Natalie Whitman (Starpoint), Jaymie Druding (OP), Brooke Schutman (East Aurora). Coaches: Carole Zirkle (Fredonia), Frank Martin (All./Limestone).