By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - With two players listed at six feet, one listed at five-eleven and two at five-ten, the Niles varsity girls' basketball roster can be quite intimidating.
The roster, however, is a bit deceptive.
In actuality, the Vikings have two players standing six-two, two standing six feet and one standing five-eleven.
Junior Melissa Olsen starts at center for the Lady Vikings and stands six-two. She owns the school record for most blocked shots in a career.
Sophomore Brandie Radde is the team's leading scorer and plays guard, standing six feet.
Sophomore Sarah Dreher is five-eleven and has recorded eight double-doubles, in points and rebounds, this year.
Junior Kate Whittaker is Olsen's backup and is a ferocious rebounder, standing six feet.
Freshman center Colombe Martin is six-one and, like Olsen, turns away plenty of shots.
The abundance of height has allowed for more variety on the defensive end of the floor and a consistent inside threat on the offensive end.
The Vikings commonly play a full-court defense and let Olsen hang back under the opponents' basket, for insurance purposes.
Offensively, Niles is far from one-dimensional but will routinely look to get the ball to a post player before settling for an outside shot.
With his team completing the regular season with a stellar 17-3 record and heavily favored to win its seventh straight District title next week, it's hard to imagine Arnold wanting any more. However…
With all of his tallest players coming back next year, Arnold has plenty of time to work on that goal.