Ericka Warvell
Name: Ericka Warvell
Team: Neshannock
Number: #11
Grade: 10
Height: 5' 10''
Weight: N/A
Position: F
Sophomores Warvell, Kauffman
coming through for Neshannock

By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
j_dabruzzo@ncnewsonline.com

It was win or go home for the Neshannock High girls basketball team.

With star senior Courtney Frengel sidelined since Jan. 5, the Lady Lancers went into the last week of the regular season needing a lift.

Sophomores Chelsea Kauffman and Ericka Warvell gave it to them.

“Courtney was kind of the team leader being a senior and averaging (17.1 points per game). When she went out, we struggled for four or five games,” Neshannock coach Greg Huston said. “It took a while for us figure out how to play without her.

“I knew those two were going to be the two who would have to carry us ... and they have. Once they figured out what their role was without Courtney, they were able to step up and play a lot better.”

Warvell scored a team-high 15 points and Kauffman followed with 10 in a 40-37 nonleague win over Karns City.

“We came out with a lot of confidence and everybody did their part,” the 5-foot-3 guard Kauffman said.

The pair were at it again in Neshannock’s WPIAL playoff-clinching Section 2-AA win over New Brighton on Thursday. Kauffman led the way with a season-high 17 points and Warvell chipped in with 10 in the 50-38 victory.

“Everybody played well,” said Warvell, a 5-11 forward. “We figured out our roles and what we should be doing.”

For their performances, Kauffman and Warvell are Lawrence County’s Co-Athletes of the Week, as selected by The New Castle News sports staff. The award is sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy.

Warvell has been Neshannock’s hottest gun since Frengel’s injury. Through 22 games (6-6 section, 11-11 overall), she is averaging 12 points with 27 3-pointers.

“Ericka has worked hard,” Huston said. “The one thing with her is trying to figure out where she belongs on the court. The problem is she has played guard her whole life and works on her shot constantly, but she’s also the tallest girl we have.

“That puts us in a position where she has to go down to the post. She’s finally started to get acclimated to that and starting to understand what she needs to do with battling people and rebounding.”

Kauffman, who didn’t score in double figures while Frengel was playing, has done so six times in her absence. She is averaging 7.9 points through 18 games.

“She’s not the fastest, not the strongest and not the tallest, but she goes out there and gets the job done,” Huston said. “She’s always been like that. She’s a hard worker and a hustler. She’s tough; she weighs 100 pounds and she battled out there.

“I give her all the credit in the world. If I was that small, I don’t think my body could take the pounding. She’s just a results-type player. I don’t know how she gets it done, she just gets it done.”

One of the main reasons for their success as sophomores is because each got playing time as a freshmen. Kauffman averaged 5.4 points and Warvell followed with a steady 5 as both played in all 24 games last year.

“Ericka was out there and she didn’t know where she belonged, this year she kind of found her nitch,” Huston said. “She’s come into her own.

“Last year’s experience helped her and she built on that to have a good year.”

Huston also noted Kauffman’s improvements.

“She worked hard on her ball-handling and on her shooting,” Huston said. “When she can get open, you know the shot’s going down. That’s a comforting feeling as a coach.”
Player of the Week
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