695Hoops Season Preview Part Two

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> There's nothing like the excitement of a new high school season. This season feels like one of the most wide open seasons since I've been covering the game. The IAAM looks to have a lot of parity with the potential for a lot of season series to be split. Public schools in the area are a bit down but there are some teams that could surprise and make a run. Here are a few notes from teams worth taking a look at this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Francis Scott Key- Carroll County's top team is fresh off a run to the 2A state championship game where they lost to Hammond. They return a solid backcourt of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='847263' first='Abby' last='Rieger']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='455583' first='Summer' last='Brooks']</strong> as well as senior <strong>Kensi</strong> <strong>Bancroft</strong>. This core group is enough to get the team a bunch of wins. Don't be surprised to see them back in the 2A final four. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hammond High- The Bears have one of Howard County's top players on their roster in senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='616551' first='Sara' last='Yarnell'].</strong> She's the real deal on both ends of the court. Let's see what the other returning players can put together to help them make another potential run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Town- The Lady Titans lack any real size but they have plenty of guards and wings that can get after it on defense and create offense. If things go their way they can make a run in 2A. I like the work <strong>Milan Clark</strong> did in the fall, and <strong>Tarshay Bel</strong>l will be a big contributor as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forest Park- The Lady Forresters made a deep run in 1A last season, but they lost two impactful seniors in Chaniya Taylor and Aliyah Carroll. They will be competitive in Baltimore City and could make another run if freshman <strong>Khloe Stewart</strong> plays up to her potential. She is joined in the frontcourt by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214879' first='Jolie' last='Hamilton']</strong> who can hold her own with anyone in the paint. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='620749' first='McKenzie' last='Fitzgerald']</strong> and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214873' first='India' last='Watkins']</strong> will man the backcourt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fallston- Another 2A contender and Harford County's top program on the public-school side. Coach Woods will have this team ready to play every game and he has some firepower with [player_tooltip player_id='899845' first='Brooke' last='Bolesta'] and Natalie Wirth so I would not be surprised to see the Cougars crack the top 15 sooner than later. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>River Hill- The Hawks feature one of the top perimeter defenders in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='565856' first='Dylan' last='Watson']. She's also one of the top players in Howard County. The loss of [player_tooltip player_id='569089' first='Camille' last='Nesmith'] to the transfer portal is huge, but Coach Waters will have the team prepared every game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->