MANCHESTER – Despite being one of the youngest teams in the Shore Conference last year, the Manchester girls basketball team is coming off a season in which they finished 24-6 and won their first South Jersey, Group II title. The Hawks advanced to the Final Four in the NJSIAA Group II Championship and lost to top-seed and eventual champion Manasquan.
“Special is the right word,” said Head coach Dave Beauchemin, who is entering his seventh season leading the Hawks, when asked about the youth of his team. “Our expectations going into last season were high, but to say we would have been able to accomplish what we did, everything was probably happening a year ahead of schedule. To see our girls take the court at the beginning of a game knowing they are talented and confident despite being so young is really fun to see.”
Manchester only graduated two seniors last year and returns many key players, including sophomore point guard Kemari Reynolds, who burst onto the scene as a freshman.
Reynolds scored 431 points a season ago and averaged 14.4 points per game. She made 17 3-pointers, had 124 rebounds (4.1 per game) 121 steals (4 per game), and 79 assists (2.6 per game).
“She’s just a special player,” Beauchemin said about Reynolds. “I’ve seen some very explosive and in-control ball-handlers, but there’s usually one thing missing at times that can be a developmental piece. For her, it seems that it was all there right away. Everything can get better, but it was all there. For such a special player, she was able to step right into our system and execute. And with the talent we’re adding around her this year, it’s going to allow her to display even more aspects of her game. To me, it’s not just hype with her. She really is a special player.”
Joining the varsity team as newcomers this season include freshman forward Destiny Adams, freshman guard Morgan Brustman, sophomore guard Nahkaleigh Hayes-Jones, and junior guard/forward Kaleigh Sharry.
Adams is the younger sister of junior forward Dakota Adams, and the two sisters are excited about playing high school basketball together.
“It’s going to be nice to have somebody there to help me through it,” Destiny Adams said.
“We’ve played a lot together and we’re definitely used to each other. It’s going to be pretty cool.” Dakota Adams said.
Dakota Adams returns after scoring 213 points (7.1 per game) and 266 rebounds (8.9 per game). She also averaged a block per game. Beauchemin is excited to watch the sisters play together at the varsity level.
“The size and versatility they both have is really special,” Beauchemin said. “And with the year that Kemari (Reynolds) had last season, Dakota being a third-team All Shore selection goes unnoticed at times. With her sister coming in as a freshman and as good they are, the blend of those two is really going to be nice. It has also pushed Dakota to improve herself in other ways because she has done a lot for us in the post. She has been a frontcourt player for us. Her sister can do a lot of the same things. It has forced Dakota to expand her game and be comfortable in other areas and it’s helped her a lot. They’ve done real well together in the preseason and it’s been real exciting to watch.”
Asha Harper will be the key senior this season for Manchester after transferring from Donovan Catholic two years ago. Beauchemin noted that Harper is mature player who is very versatile, and is one of the team’s vocal leaders.
But youth is the key for Manchester, and it will be again in 2017-18. Beauchemin admits that the next few seasons with this group can be exciting, but girls basketball in the Shore Conference is always competitive.
“We really do believe the sky is the limit. But there’s one reality that we try to live in and have respect for, there might not be anything like girls basketball in the Shore Conference,” Beauchemin said. “We do have that realization that as talented as we are and can continue to be, there’s still some big dogs out there that will never go away. Trying to take hold and maintain supremacy of B South is really that first goal, staying relevant in the division, which we know we can. And then remaining one of those teams to beat in South Jersey, Group II is another goal. For them now, with the taste of it last year, we want to see how far we can go. That was our first trip to a sectional final and to win one, we put ourselves into rarified air in Manchester. If we can build on that and get to the Tournament of Champions, it would be really special for these girls. We know the talent is there to do that, but we know there is so much talent in the Shore Conference and in the state.”
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