SEASON OF HOPES
Shaker sends seven seniors off while battling pandemic
LATHAM, NY » When the Shaker girl’s basketball 2020 season ended in the Section II semifinal head coach Jaimee Shipley knew that they’d be returning seven seniors the following season, including a Division 1 commit.
Things didn’t go exactly as planned.
“It’s been really hard. We had a great core coming back and we added some juniors from last year’s JV team. We were really excited about what we were going to be able to do,” Shipley said.
The 2021 version of the Blue Bison team has struggled to find their way to start the condensed campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a season where wins and losses have taken a back seat to just getting the experience of playing high school basketball.
“It’s really the only thing that is important, that they get the opportunity to finish out their high school career,” Shipley said of her seniors. The group includes Kayla Robbins, Angelina Schaefer, Annabella Britt, Sole Carrington, Kathleenjoy Gordon, Kelly Kirker and Maddisyn Mahoney.
“That’s what it’s all about, letting them have one more
opportunity to play games. I just wish we could have a different result and be a little bit more competitive than we’re being right now, but at least we’re out here.”
So far, the Blue Bison have picked up two wins. The first win for the Blue Bison was their opener against Colonie. Their other was on their Senior Night win against Burnt Hills.
“It was amazing. Just the thought of actually having a Senior Night with the pandemic going on was amazing. Everyone’s done so much for us and it was just a great night,” said Maddisyn Mahoney, who is Shaker’s Division 1 commit.
Mahoney is getting ready to play basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.
“I got lucky and I committed before the pandemic really hit, which I’m thankful for, but for all of my friends it’s been a pretty difficult process since they have to reach out the coaches without getting as much playing time and exposure that we normally get,” Mahoney said.
Some of her teammates are still looking to play in college but remain undecided on where. KJ Gordon and Sole Carrington are a few of them.
Mahoney spoke a little bit more in-depth about why FDU was the right fit for her.
“Once I went on the visit, I absolutely loved it. The campus was beautiful, I loved the coach and I loved the way they coach. They have a post-coach, which is very uncommon nowadays, since there aren’t that many true post players anymore. That made it an amazing fit, plus they had all the academic programs and support that I’m going to need.”
Coming into the abbreviated season, Albany County was one of the final come around to allowing high-risk sports to take place. Additionally, Shaker High School dealt with some positive COVID tests, limiting the amount of athletic activities that could take place over the last several months. Needless to say, the road to getting back on the court hasn’t been easy.
“We may only practice once a week with how many games we play. We have such a great group, but we just haven’t seemed to be able to get it together for the results this year,” Shipley said.
“We’re trying to get the most out of the season. We’re working our butts off as hard as we can. Most of us are doing extra workouts and getting extra shots up when we can and really pushing ourselves during practice,” Mahoney added. “We want to win. We want to be like those teams that are putting together good seasons.”
The Suburban Council will have a playoff tournament next week, so the Blue Bison still have some time to show that they can do.