Bonanza benefiting from sister act

By Brent Hinckley

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009 | 12:01 a.m.

Chemistry is key to any team's success and Bonanza girls basketball coach Dean Bosch believes that is one of the reasons why his squad is having a successful year.

The Bengals, at 19-2 overall and 8-1 in Southwest Division play, are having one of their best seasons in recent memory.

The reason for the team's chemistry comes from having two sets of sisters on the team —the Pitts sisters, senior guard Shirley and junior guard Alice Pitts, along with twin forwards Heather and Heidi Kratz.

"I think it's been integral. They don't want to lose, because they don't want to let each other down," he said. "It's about the team. They're happy when the Bengals get a win."

Shirley Pitts is the lone senior out of the four and is the Bengals leading scorer, averaging 19 points per game. Alice Pitts is No. 2 in scoring, averaging 12 points per game.

The Pitts grew up playing basketball together, from club teams to middle school and now high school. This is the last year the two will be playing on the same team and Alice Pitts said she'll miss playing alongside her sister.

"Yeah, it's pretty sad she'll be leaving me, but it will give me more time to grow," she said.

All four girls said they had no problem giving advice and criticizing their sister when needed.

"(Shirley) tells me what I'm doing wrong and even when she yells at me and makes my cry, it's nice to have because it pushes me harder," Alice Pitts said.

Heidi Kratz added, "Heather is not afraid to criticize me even when others would shy away. I love it because she's always going to support me, so then we'll go work on it and try and get better."

Bosch said that sibling rivalry makes the girls better players.

"I think that rivalry helps them get after it in practice and it's good to an extent, but we definitely don't want it to go overboard," he said.

Shirley Pitts said one of the benefits of having Alice on the court is they know what each other are going to do.

"I know where she's going to be on the court and what she's going to do," Shirley Pitts said.

While the Pitts sisters grew up playing basketball, the Kratz girls did not start playing until they got to high school. Heather Kratz said Shirley Pitts helped her become a better player.

"I used not to be able to make a left-handed lay-up, but Shirley taught me how and my sister would work with me at home," she said.

The girls said having another set of sisters on the team helps them relate to each other.

"We're all really good friends. We know how to help each other, how to criticize when needed and we don't have to worry, because it's just about getting better," Heather Kratz said.

Shirley Pitts said she likes the rare situation of having two sets of sisters on one team.

"Out of the 10 girls, the four of us are almost half the team. We can relate to each other and we get along great," she said.

Bosch said that while it is rare to have two pairs of siblings on the floor, it's important for the whole team to have a similar bond.

"We stress to all the girls about being friends off and on the court. Shirley and Alice and Heather and Heidi have that and work well together being siblings," he said. "We're a collective family."

Brent Hinckley can be reached at 990-7822 or [email protected].