After year assisting Germantown Academy girls, Rhoads returning to pro basketball in Europe

Before its nonleague win over Freire Charter on Thursday, host Germantown Academy honored several former players, including Jesse Carey, Tory Thierolf, Maggie Lucas, and Joey Rhoads.

Carey, a 2009 graduate, is playing for Villanova. Thierolf and Lucas, both 2010 grads, are in their first seasons at Drexel and Penn State, respectively. Lucas scored 20 points in a loss to Drexel last week.

Rhoads, who served a year as an assistant to Patriots coach Sherri Retif, was given a send-off before she heads to the women's professional season in Germany. The 2003 graduate will play for the team in Halle, 100 miles southwest of Berlin.

"I got an e-mail from my agent saying the team was looking for a point guard, and I decided I was ready to go back to pro ball," said Rhoads, who will leave next month.

She previously spent two seasons abroad, playing for teams in Finland and Spain.

"I decided to take time off from playing last year," Rhoads said. "I had some offers to play, but I was a little homesick. Now I'm ready to go back, and I'm excited."

The season started in October, so Rhoads will join the team at its midseason break.

"You don't make money like the pro players here, but the team gives you a car and an apartment," Rhoads said.

Injuries slow Gators. Shipley is scheduled to make its debut in the West Chester Classic at West Chester University at 6 p.m. Monday against Cardinal O'Hara, hoping to put some bad luck behind it.

Captains Celeste Golub and Jordyn Turner suffered early ankle injuries. Golub has seen little action, and Turner has not played at all, so what appeared to be the start of a promising season has been a little rocky.

Shipley is 2-3 after losses to unbeaten Penn Charter, ranked No. 6 by The Inquirer; the Hill School; and Springside. Cardinal O'Hara, the Gators' tournament opponent, is ranked No. 9 by The Inquirer.

"We've been lucky that some others have stepped up," Shipley coach Sean Costello said. "It's a good group of kids. The tourney contacted me early and asked if I'd bring the team. We jumped at the opportunity. Even without some players, it will give us a chance to tune up for the [Pennsylvania Independent Schools] tourney."

Six-foot-one Aja Ellison and point guard Sox Alexander have shown they can play even though they are freshmen. Both played for Costello on a very competitive AAU team.

Ellison is the daughter of Pervis Ellison, who led Louisville to the 1986 NCAA basketball championship and spent 11 years in the NBA. Costello hopes to get Turner back in January. Golub's status is being evaluated.

Raiders make progress. Although Coatesville lost its latest outing, to Downingtown East, coach Fred Ellzy said he liked what he had seen from his first-year charges. Ellzy, given the task of reviving a once proud program, said he was particularly happy with the Red Raiders' effort in the 52-39 loss to the Cougars.

"They see their hard work is beginning to pay off," Ellzy said as he prepared the team for its opening-round game against Palisades Tuesday in the two-day Quakertown Holiday Tournament. Coatesville, which was 8-18 last season, is 4-2.

"We learned that you can't make mistakes - we needed a perfect game against a team like East - but we've come a long way in a short period of time," the coach said.

Ellzy attributes much of the team's progress to Elisa Gaffney, Nicole Southcott, Asia Graham, and highly regarded freshman Hannah Timmons.

"We fell off our game plan in the second quarter against Downingtown and dug a hole for ourselves," Ellzy said. "We did get some momentum back in the third quarter, but we had to do some fouling late that hurt us."

Team Record

Last week's rankings in parentheses.

1. Archbishop Wood (1) 1-0

2. Germantown Ac. (2) 5-0

3. Mount St. Joseph (3) 7-0

4. Prep Charter (4) 5-0

5. Council Rock N. (5) 2-0

6. Penn Charter (6) 8-0

7. Council Rock S. (8) 3-1

8. Archbishop Carroll (9) 1-2

9. Cardinal O'Hara (10) 0-1

10. Nazareth Ac. (NR) 6-0

Under consideration (listed alphabetically): Abington (3-2), Central (3-1), Cheltenham (3-1), Downingtown East (4-2), Downingtown West (3-1), Engineering & Science (4-2), Notre Dame Academy (4-2), Spring-Ford (5-0).

- Don Beideman

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