Siblings won't let Seton girls basketball take a step back

December 11, 2014 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


It's like Seton Catholic girls basketball coach Karen Self is talking about her own family tree when she recounts two decades at the private school in Chandler. In a way, she is. This Seton girls basketball thing is a family.

The longtime Lady Sentinels' mentor has perhaps the most vast array of siblings and youth ever on this 2014-2015 squad. Two Wirths, Jenn and LeeAnne, who played last year as freshmen. are back and they've arrived after three sisters before them. Another Barcello, Sarah, is taking the place of standout Julia. Sophomore Liz Holter following her sister, Anne Marie, from a couple years back. Senior Hailey Wilson has a younger sister on the current junior varsity. Current varsity players Chelsey and NIcole Eze compete on varsity on the heels of sister, Crystal, last year. Kendall Krick, a key reserve is following sister,Kelsey, from a half-dozen years ago. That's just the present. There are many more family ties that go beyond one sibling..

"Seton's like a rural community that exists in a suburb," Self said. "The kids going here, many of their parents went to school here. So did their grandparents."

These loyal families and many new ones are delivering athletic offspring in many sports, but hard to match the amount Self has been blessed with in her tenure. The reality this season is how young Seton is in going after a state title. The Lady Sentinels are 9-2 to date with their losses to Division I Dobson and Mesquite. Self starts a lineup consisting of one senior, three sophomores and one freshman.

Learning year this year? Of course. Yet still potent enough at this stage to compete for a trophy.The three sophomores saw lots of duty last year in a state-title run, but were not the leaders. Leadership resided with seniors Julia Barcello and Heather Heild, who combined for 60 percent of the team's offense last year.

"I think this is the youngest group I've started," Self said. "We're young, but most of these girls have grown up together playing together. The best thing is how close they are. They're such good friends. They're very unselfish."

Seton's first home game Tuesday night -- a 68-47 over Saguaro -- was a sampling of its ability. For the game, Seton shot 63 percent. In the first quarter it made 9-of-12 shots, including four threes. Perimeter shooting was still solid the rest of the half, but its transition game was dazzling at times. As well as Seton played, with often a double-digit lead, Saguaro was within eight with five minutes left in the third period. By the same mark of the fourth period, the margin was 28 buoyed by fast breaks and transition.

Jenn Wirth and LeeAnne Wirth operate out of the high and low post at 6-foot-2 and 6-3, respectively. Holter runs the offense and Sarah Barcello can shoot lights out from the perimeter much the way older brother, Alex, does for Corona del Sol. In the win over Saguaro scoring was balanced with Jenn Wirth netting 17, Barcello 16, LeeAnne Wirth 8 and Holter and Wilson 6 points each. Krick added eight points off the bench and two of the seven threes made as a team. Seton ran its record to 6-0 this season against D-II competition on Thursday night (Dec. 11) with a 64-58 road win at Maricopa. Maricopa entered that game unbeaten at 6-0. 

Self is impressed by the scoring ability this team possesses. Appreciative of it. For good reason.

"We are a talented offensive team and love to run in transition," Self said. "That's good because we're not very good defensively right now. We're going to keep working on that."

That last comment is not idle talk coming from Self. Defense is the hallmark of Seton teams and more often the reason it goes deep into state tournament play and/or wins titles. Evidence is its last four championships where the Lady Sentinels have allowed an average of 39 points in those title-game successes.

If the defense catches up to the offense, D-II foes are likely in for rough ride trying to dethrone the Lady Sentinels.