Lily Shaner ’17, AJ Marcucci ’17: This year will mark Elodie Furey ‘17’s third year on the Episcopal Academy varsity basketball team. Furey is a forward whose main roles are to post up at the basket and rebound shots from both teams. She has been playing basketball since first grade, and, aside from playing for Episcopal, she plays AAU basketball for Comets Girls Basketball Club. When asked about her own skillset, Furey replied, “I think I see the floor well and stay level headed throughout the game. My height helps with rebounding and blocking shots on defense and making moves around the post on offense.” Furey also acknowledged, “This year I’d like to work on creating more offensive opportunities for myself and my teammates. Also as an upperclassmen I have to step into a leadership position on the team.”
Furey’s positive outlook on this season will help her strive for success, and she has expressed that her goal is “to win the Inter-Ac.” Furey also explained, “I think we have a chance to go undefeated in the Inter-Ac. We have strong returning seniors who lead our team and many of the younger girls have improved a lot since last season and will be playing important minutes this year.” Though Furey conceded, “This year, our team isn’t as big as past years’, so everybody on the team will be getting more minutes and will have to step up in order to win the Inter-Ac,” Furey is confident that, “We have a lot of talent on the team so I think this is very possible.” Furey’s personal success is bound to come from her knowledge of the playing styles of her teammates like Reilly Wright ‘17. Furey stated, “I’ve been playing with Reilly since we were in second grade for Malvern league and CYO, so we know how to play with each other really well.” Furey will also be playing alongside co-captains Dylan Higgins ‘16, Margaux Paolino ‘16, and Lily Kuntz ‘16.
Photo courtesy of Maggie Mengel ’17
Higgins in particular asserted how much confidence she has in Furey, noting, “She has changed over the past 3 years; she has definitely gotten stronger, she works hard in the weight room, and she has become more aggressive. Elodie knows that she needs to step up for the team this year as a junior and become one of the leaders on the court.” Paolino went on to say, “Elodie is a huge part of our team because of her rebounding, scoring, and shot blocking. Our team would not have had the success that we have had without her.” Furthermore, Kuntz and Furey work together on the court often, as they play the two forwards on the team. They have begun to feed off each other over time. Kuntz noted, “She is a good teammate and really sees the court well. We work together and she gives me a lot of my assists. She never has a bad attitude in practice or in games and she is always energetic on the court.” Kuntz also added that, “She encourages everyone.”
As a whole, the girls’ basketball team is looking to win back the state title that they claimed in 2013. Head Coach Chuck Simmonds commented on Furey’s playing skills with that goal for the season in mind, stating, “In the past she has been defensively minded and I want her this year to think more offensively. We need it and she needs to do it to be able to play at the next level.”