Kacey Fitzpatrick has a new role for Stagg and she’s enjoying it.
After being the top player on the Chargers’ freshman team last season, the sophomore guard is a contributor on the varsity.
She scored a game-high 13 points and Abbey Hobart added 10 as Stagg snapped a three-game losing streak with a 50-21 win at Richards on Jan. 11.
“I like to play up,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s fun. I like the skill and talent that I have (playing) against me, too.”
“There were a lot of adjustments for her to make and she is really starting to fulfill that role,” Stagg coach Allee Hernandez said. “She is really starting to get a feel for who she is on this team.”
Fitzpatrick is working on her all-around game in her first varsity season. But she hopes there will be more games like this.
“I’ve been focusing on my defense and assisting, but I want more points,” Fitzpatrick said with a smile.
While she is eager to score, Fitzpatrick says she avoids being selfish and follows the lead of the older Chargers.
“I really like to learn from my teammates and what they do and focus on how I can bounce off them and work as a team to get a victory,” she said.
After the three-game losing streak to start the new year, Hernandez said Stagg (13-7) was due for a reset.
“When you get thrown out of your schedule, you feel a bit off,” she said. “We’ve been trying to find where we have fallen short in those few losses and adjust in those moments to be able to be successful down the stretch.”
Ten Chargers scored against Richards.
“It goes to show that we are not just one, two or three people. We are a full team,” Hernandez said.
New leader for Richards
Tommy Makuch and Jeff Kortz switched spots on the Richards bench this season.
Makuch, a 2013 Richards alum, took over this season for Kortz, a 1988 Bulldogs graduate who had led the program since 2001. Kortz remained on the staff as an assistant to Makuch, who was his assistant last season.
The two also have worked together with the Bulldogs football program.
“I’ve coached with him for 10 years,” Makuch said of Kortz. “Learning from him and how he handles being a leader has helped me in this role.
“Having coach Kortz around has been huge. He has always been a mentor for me.”
The Bulldogs varsity roster is senior heavy with just four players being underclassmen. Makuch says players such as multi-sport athlete and senior guard Skylar Egan have set the tone for others.
“She’s one of our hardest workers,” Makuch said. “It’s hard to get her off the floor. I always know she is going to give her best. She’s a good team leader and she takes initiative.”
Leading the Bulldogs (4-10) in the loss to Stagg was junior forward Ameera Martin with eight points.
“She’s got a ton of talent,” Makuch said. “She does a really good job rebounding for us and she is making sure she is becoming the best version of herself.”
Makuch saw Kortz build great rapport with his players and hopes to do the same.
“I want to make sure the kids know this is supposed to be fun,” Makuch said.
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