Coach Torppa

Naselle guard Brandi Keightley

11/29/2006 Courtesy of Chinook Observer

Naselle guard Brandi Keightley passes out of a defensive trap during a recent practice. Keightley will help lead the fast break oriented offense for the Comets.
Naselle’s Erin Saari drives to the hoop at a recent practice. Saari will serve as a scoring threat and a ball handler for the Comets.Veteran Naselle girls team setting sights on Pacific Division title

NASELLE - Bobby Torppa greeted 10 junior and senior girls and welcomed them to his Naselle girls' varsity squad Nov. 13. Included in the group are honorable mention all-league players Brandi Keightley, Erin Saari and Cheryl Steppe of the Comets' 10-15 team from a year ago that won three straight games at district."We played well last summer, winning a majority of our 28 varsity and seven JV games and it's nice to have a veteran team that knows the system," Torppa says. "This season we can refine our play and concentrate on details." Torppa and veteran assistant Greg Nelson are confident that the fine-tuning will be enough to produce a contender in the Pacific 2B League. "Last year at district Toutle Lake beat us up pretty badly and the girls made a resolve to be more aggressive this season, to go after people and I see them already making progress in that area," Torppa said.With a veteran team with depth the Comets will press at every chance. "We will run a little bit of everything defensively," the coach says. "A 2-3 zone, full-court zone traps, half-court traps, man-to-man, you name it, and we will use it on defense."On offense the Comets will run motion against "man" defenses and use the traditional Lyle Patterson zone offenses so Naselle fans will again hear "Gunny Sack, Mickey Mouse, Zanzibar, maybe even a little Carolina," Torppa says with a grin. The coaches are also looking to run an organized fast break.The point guard position will be by committee with Keightley, Saari and Kellyn Pakenen handling the basketball against presses. Inside, Cheryl Steppe and Ashley Ahlstrom will be solid on the glass and will likely round out the starting five. Depth is a definite Comet strength as Collette Beaulaurier will play inside and Jenny Klinger, Kelsey Fletcher, Sandra Rodriguez and Haley Landis will supply reserve strength at the guard and forward positions.Nelson says, "Several of the junior varsity players could develop the skills to play at the varsity level by the end of the year." His group includes sophomores Shelby Leeland, Jackie Anderson, Emma Fauver, Jerrica Juarez, Emily Green, Lindsey O'Kelly, Hannah Beatty, Nicole Laney, Samantha Bauer and Orianne Condon."If we play like we did last summer we should be in the top three in our league," Torppa predicts. There is no indication that the Comets will do anything but improve throughout the campaign. North Beach should be the favorite in the Pacific League and Valley and South Bend have solid programs. The problem lies in the Central League where Torppa says, "Everyone is extremly good and Mossyrock and White Pass are state championship caliber teams." When the WIAA completes their allocations in early December, five District IV teams are likely to get an invite to Spokane. A finely-tuned Comets squad should be knocking at the door come March along with a crowd of Central 2B powerhouses and North Beach. "We have to concentrate on the little things and be aggressive in order to make good stuff happen," Torppa said as he watches two-thirds of his veteran team hit the floor for a loose ball at the end of practice.The Naselle girls begin their season this Friday night with a home game against Warrenton.