It’s not just Kayley Kovac who’s having a breakout rookie season.
While the Jim Thorpe freshman has been the highest-scoring newcomer to the Schuylkill League — and highest-scoring player in general — and made her team an instant league playoff contender, she’s not alone in her efforts.
Kovac’s achievements have been highly publicized, and rightfully so. But here are some other rookies who are putting up impressive numbers:
Reagan Newswanger
Jr., Tri-Valley
Newswanger is ninth in area scoring, putting in 13.8 points per game for the Dawgs. She’s also one of the better long-distance shooters in the league, averaging 1.1 3-point field goals a game.
In addition, she’s in the top 10 in free-throw percentage, shooting .681 from the line.
Tri-Valley dropped to 7-4, 1-2 in Division II, after a 4-0 overall start, but a couple more wins like Wednesday’s 57-47 victory over Williams Valley can get the Dawgs back in the divisional race and closer to a District 11 Class A playoff spot.
Newswanger played JV her freshman season and a half-season her sophomore year. She is a couple spots ahead of teammate Paige Doyle, who is averaging 11.5 points, on the area scoring list.
Julia Kutz
Soph., Blue Mountain
Kutz is one of the league’s most effective rookies in the paint, putting up four double-doubles in nine games and averaging around 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Despite starting the year 1-4, this young Blue Mountain squad has shown a lot of potential.
Now at 4-5, 2-2 D-I, the Eagles pounded Panther Valley 57-23 on Wednesday and have Lehighton, non-league Hamburg, Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua on the horizon.
Kutz can certainly help Blue Mountain bolster that record. In addition to her work in the paint, the sophomore is shooting .571 from the free-throw line.
Junior teammate Abby Fanelli leads the squad with 12.3 points a game and an .828 free-throw percentage — second in the area.
Megan Bisco
Fr., Mahanoy Area
So far, I’ve only seen the Golden Bears once this season — a 42-34 win over Schuylkill Haven on Dec. 13.
Bisco led Mahanoy with 11 points that day.
“We said from the beginning and at the end of the summer it’s going to be tougher and tougher to keep her out of the lineup,” first-year Mahanoy coach Tom Scheeler said of Bisco after the win.
Bisco hasn’t veered off that pace much since. She’s third in area scoring among freshmen (8.4 ppg) and seventh among all players in 3-pointers per game (1.5) for the Golden Bears (6-3, 1-1 D-III).
Averi Jordan
and Sam Shinkus
Fr., North Schuylkill
Last year, we saw what talented freshmen can do on a league-contending team with Minersville.
Much like the Battlin’ Miners’ freshmen in 2013-14, Jordan and Shinkus are well-rounded basketball players.
Both can drive the ball, both can shoot the ball and both hustle no matter where they are on the court.
Sure, the numbers might not be as high as other rookies (Jordan averages five points a game, Shinkus almost three), but play against them and you’ll soon see neither play like freshmen.
Jordan is also averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and 2.0 assists per game. Shinkus is close to those numbers with 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Aubrey Blasiak
and Skylynn Faust
Fr., Lehighton
Blasiak has sparked Lehighton’s offense this season, leading the team with 9.8 points a game — second among area freshmen between Kovac and Bisco.
She also averages 3.5 steals, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds despite her shorter frame.
Fellow freshman Faust isn’t far behind, putting in 7.1 points per game, grabbing 8.3 rebounds and totaling three double-doubles.
No sophomore slump
It bears discussing that many of last year’s rookies have kept up their production as well:
• Minersville’s trio of sophomores — Abby Schoffstall, Emily Mealey and Adrienne Kroznuskie — are, unbelievably, better than last season.
Schoffstall is second in area scoring with 20.1 ppg, Mealey is sixth with 14.1 and Kroznuskie 17th with 10.6;
• Lourdes sophomore Carmella Bickel ranks seventh with 13.9 ppg, sixth with 1.8 3-point field goals per game and seventh with a .677 free-throw percentage;
• Pottsville’s Madison Sherakas saw significant time off the bench in her freshman campaign last season, but her contributions as a sophomore have been substantial.
Sherakas is 15th in area scoring with 11.2 points per game and 14th in free-throw percentage with .643. She has also hit eight 3-pointers;
• Alexys Naranjo was just a sign of what was to come for Jim Thorpe last year.
This season, the Olympians’ sophomore is averaging 9.7 points per game.
(Wilson is girls’ basketball beat writer for the Republican-Herald. Contact him at mwilson@republicanherald.com or on Twitter @MWilsonRH)
Girls’ Basketball
Power Poll
School Rec. Pvs
1. North Schuylkill 7-2 1
2. Pottsville 9-1 2
3. Minersville 9-1 3
4. Marian 8-2 4
5. Shen. Valley 8-1 5
6. Lourdes 10-1 6
7. Jim Thorpe 7-3 8
8. Blue Mountain 4-5 10
9. Mahanoy Area 6-3 9
10. Williams Valley 5-4 7
— Compiled by Mike Wilson