HADLEY — First-year Hopkins Academy girls basketball coach Mike Prattico was running through practice with the Golden Hawks ahead of their fourth game of the season.
Prattico, a paraprofessional at Hopkins, knows everyone’s name and face now, but that wasn’t the case when he held tryouts the week after Thanksgiving. Two of the Kowal-Safron triplets, Allison and Carolyn, particularly gave him trouble.
“I know them because I work at Hopkins, so it was a little bit easier because I’m used to being around these girls,” he said. “But not gonna lie, the first couple practices during the season I’d look and want to say Allison when it was Carolyn. It was a little tough. As the season goes on, being around these girls every day, it’s pretty easy to tell who’s who.”
Allison is a bit shorter with dark hair and wears a dark headband, while Carolyn is a little taller with lighter hair than her sister.
“People will always joke around and think that we can communicate with each other through our minds,” Carolyn said.
The juniors have played sports together since their mom signed them up for recreation league basketball when they were little. But they don’t do everything together. Allison is the lone sister on the Hopkins girls soccer team, and is on the Hopkins mock trial team. Carolyn finished the Marine Corps Marathon in 5 hours, 38 minutes, 29 seconds in late October, and plays the saxophone in jazz band.
Last season, all three Kowal-Safron sisters played on the Hopkins girls basketball team. But this season, Allison and Carolyn’s sister Catherine decided not to try out for the team, instead choosing to focus on academics with the SAT looming at the end of December.
“We compete with a lot of different things,” Carolyn said. “We don’t necessarily like it, but we compete with our grades and our sports.”
“It’s kind of a natural thing,” Allison added. “It’s fun. We always push each other and talk about how we can improve at home. You always want to one-up everyone.”
Allison said that was the case when Catherine played too.
Allison has been a mainstay in the Golden Hawks’ starting lineup since last season. The guard averaged 9.1 points per game in the 2017-18 season, and scored 10 points in Hopkins’ three-point win over Amherst on Dec. 14. She is averaging 6.8 points per game, third behind A.J. Mitchell (8.3 ppg) and Samantha Jenks (18.5 ppg).
Carolyn is a rotational piece on the bench, but Prattico pegs both as having a big impact on the season.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of everyone else when those two are knocking down shots,” he said. “They’re so consistent with their shooting, it enables the other (players) when the other team has to focus on them and leaves the others open. It creates space within our offense and it jells terrifically.
“They’re great shooters, whether it’s outside, whether it’s driving to the basket attacking the rim. Ultimately, they create a lot of space.”
Both have been receptive of their new coach.
“It’s definitely new,” Allison said. “His style plays a bit different. Personally, I didn’t really know him well before basketball started. The new style is kind of refreshing, a new way to play. It seems to be working for us so far.”
Added Carolyn, “He doesn’t necessarily know everyone ahead of time; he’s coming in new. It’s kind of cool to have a fresh slate, we can all earn our spots and playing time.”
Jenks, a senior, is the leader of the team. She averaged 21.1 points last season en route to surpassing 1,000 career points. Prattico credits Jenks for being able to get the Kowal-Safrons involved in the offense. Her ability to draw attention away from the shooters gives them space for open looks at the basket.
“Having the Safron sisters on the sides on the wings creates space for her, so that when they’re open she can find them and they can knock down shots,” Prattico said. “They also just bring a lot of intensity to the defensive end as well. They work really hard in practice. They’re always just here ready to compete and give it their all and that’s what we want.”
Hopkins is 4-2 on the season. The Kowal-Safron sisters are hoping for a chance to put together a pair of successful seasons in their final two years at Hopkins.
“Now that we’re older, we have a chance to make a dent on this season against the other teams,” Carolyn said. “I’m kind of hoping that we can do something with it.”
