Photos by Carlo Montalbo (www.i4pix.smugmug.com) & Josh Thompson

Girls Basketball:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the GHS girls basketball program right now.

The Tartans are 13-1 and they’ve outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 840-441.

Glendora is ranked 30th in the state by MaxPreps, and they’ve won 12 consecutive games.

That includes Kaiser and Covina Tournament titles.

GHS has a pair of wins over Rancho Cucamonga, and when they defeated Rosary Academy (50-34) in the championship of the Covina Tournament, the Royals were undefeated and ranked 11th in the state.

The Tartans open their own tournament on Wednesday morning at 9:30 against Garfield (8-3).

But there’s more.

GHS senior Rylie Anderson begins the week just 41 points shy of becoming the Glendora High School all-time scoring leader.

Anderson has scored a team-high 258 points through the first 14 games, and that allowed her to pass Jennifer Barbone (1,239 career points) for second place.

She is just 40 points from tying Jorday Holmes, and 41 away from writing her name into the GHS record book.

The 5-foot-4 point-guard has 1,303 career points in three-plus years, and that includes 185 3-pointers.

Anderson’s 126 points during her freshman campaign was fifth behind Hailey Schaffer (257), Karley Tilton (239), Kennedy Pucci (224) and Emma Barnett (138), but since then, she’s paced Adam Nunemaker’s offense to the tune of 1,177 points and an average of nearly 17-points per game.

She’s been the program’s leading scorer over the last three years.

Anderson has also tallied a team-best 92 steals in 2023-24, which is 39 more than her next closest teammate, Brianna Gomez, who has 53.

Rylie led the program in steals during her sophomore and senior seasons, and she was second in 2020-21 and 2022-23.

In all, she’s totaled 428 career steals.

Of the 98 games that she’s been a Tartan, GHS has won 68 times.

Far more important than her on-the-court prowess is the fact that Rylie Anderson is a great and selfless teammate.

During an interview on Friday night, Anderson seemed uncomfortable talking about herself, and praised her teammates for the success Glendora has enjoyed thus far.

She doesn’t care if she gets the headlines or leads the Tartans in scoring.

As long as GHS wins, Rylie Anderson is a happy and content young lady.

Anderson credited her faith and the unconditional love and guidance from her parents (Nancy & David Anderson) as the reasons she’s become the respectful, hard-working and intelligent young woman she is today.

Oh, and in the classroom, Anderson has a 4.2 weighted GPA.

In the fall of 2023, Rylie was the recipient of the CIF Champions of Character award.

Believe it or not, a number of coaches/scouts don’t give Anderson a second look, because of her stature.

If given the opportunity, though, Rylie is going to make a college program all the better for taking a chance on her.

Currently, she’s had some initial interest from Cal Baptist in Riverside, and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

Anderson is the spawn of a true basketball family.

Her grandmother, Barbara Ireland, coached at Maranatha High School for 25 years.

Anderson’s older brother, Jack, played a significant role in Glendora winning a CIF-SS championship back in 2o2o-21.

And she’s the older sister to triplets, Matt, Cameron and Morgan, each of whom are members of the GHS junior varsity basketball teams.

When her playing days are over, she’d like to teach and be able to give back to the game of basketball as a coach.

As mentioned, Anderson said every girl in a GHS uniform is just as responsible for their success as she has been.

And those contributors include Brianna Gomez (14 points per game), Reagan Herrmann (9), Addison Martin (8), Rebekah Zweerink (5), Milana Luera (2), Kamryn Kuo (2), Lily Stowell (2), Faith Hernandez (2), Mia Reyes (1), Kennedy Morgan (1), Zylee Espinoza (1) and Hannah Dykstra (1).

Rylie also emphasized the massive impact from their fiery head coach, Adam Nunemaker.

To GHS opponents, Nunemaker might come off a little rough around the edges and he doesn’t censor himself very often.

But he has the love and respect of his players, and from firsthand experience, this writer knows just how much he cares about them as both athletes and young women.

The best way to describe it is ‘tough love.’

And Nunemaker’s numbers speak for themselves.

Since taking over in 2015-16, Glendora is 183-64, which means his program is winning at a 74-percent clip.

He also led the program to its first CIF-SS title in 2017-18, when they went 32-1.

Before his arrival, the Tartans had one player in program history that surpassed the 1,000-point mark.

Nine years later, that number has ballooned to seven.

Lastly, I asked Anderson to answer the following: What do you appreciate about your parents? What is it like to play for Nunemaker? What would you want to say to your teammates past and present? Why is GHS having so much success this season?

Said Rylie Anderson: “What I admire most about my parents is the example they’ve set for all of us, and their unwavering support. They don’t care how many points we score. What matters to them is just being there and supporting us. Coach Nuner is an awesome guy. I don’t know a coach who cares more about his players. He loves us and it shows by his actions. He supports us, pushes us to be better and his tough love is something we all need from time to time. I want to thank all my teammates, present and past. I wouldn’t have nearly the success I’ve been lucky enough to have without their contributions and support. And in terms of being 13-1, I think it’s because of our work ethic and the genuine chemistry we have as a program. We play for each other.”

To view a photo gallery of Rylie Anderson, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook

Quotable:

GHS coach, Adam Nunemaker: “Rylie has a lot of talent and lot of skill, but what she has more than that is a lot of heart. She works as hard as anyone we’ve ever had here. She wants to be great. She is a bulldog and she’ll do anything to make the team better. She has taken our program to another level. Pretty much everyone follows her lead. Whenever the best player works the hardest, everyone has to follow along with her.”

Former Tartan star, Karley Tilton: “I noticed something was special with Rylie prior to her being a teammate. When she was in eighth grade, we would meet up once a week and work out or run together. Her tenacity as an eighth grader has only grown through her high school years. In my opinion, there are two reasons why Rylie has been a successful scorer. The first is her selflessness, which is not something you would think of as a high scorer like her. However, she would rather pass the ball and get the best open shop possible, even if it means her scoring less. Secondly, her ability to try just as hard, if not harder, if she fails. If she misses a shot, you know she will be shooting again and making the adjustment she needs to make.

If she turns the ball over, you know that she will be the defender that no offensive player wants to go against in trying to get the ball back. Even when she does not fail, and she has just succeeded, the emotions do not slow her down. She is always giving 110% to the game. The fact that she hardly ever allows emotions, good or bad, to get in the way of her game is something I admire. The thing I respect the most about Rylie as a basketball player is that the attributes I have mentioned, selflessness and trying her best always, go far beyond the game and into her life outside of basketball.”

Former Tartan star, Hailey Schaffer: “Rylie has always been very determined and motivated to become successful in basketball. She was just as amazing off the court as she was on the court. Rylie was the only one to stay positive no matter the situation. I am so excited for her and so proud of everything she has accomplished.”

Just below are video clips of Anderson showing she’s not afraid to challenge players much taller than her, and Rylie reaching the 1,000-point club last year.

 

Glendora High w/Rylie Anderson:
2023-24: 13-1 overall, 1-0 in Palomares League, 258 points, 38 3-pointers & 92 steals
2022-23: 22-7, 8-2, 495 points, 59 3-pointers & 154 steals
2021-22: 22-10, 6-4, 424 points, 43 3-pointers & 135 steals
2020-21: 11-12, 7-3, 126 points, 45 3-pointers & 47 steals
Career Totals Through December 26th: 68-30 overall, 1,303 points, 185 3-pointers & 428 steals

2023-24 Scoring Leaders:
Rylie Anderson (258 points)
Brianna Gomez (189)
Reagan Herrmann (123)
Addison Martin (113)

2022-23:
Rylie Anderson (495)
Hailey Schaffer (384)
Brianna Gomez (271)
Miran Tomt (192)
Reagan Herrmann (175)
Addison Martin (134)

2021-22:
Rylie Anderson (424)
Kennedy Herrmann (346)
Hailey Schaffer (338)
Emma Barnett (167)
Miriam Tomt (133)
Brianna Gomez (124)

2020-21:
Hailey Schaffer (257)
Karley Tilton (239)
Kennedy Pucci (224)
Emma Barnett (138)
Rylie Anderson (126)

Adam Nunemaker’s Record at GHS:
2023-24: 13-1, 1-0
2022-23: 22-7, 8-2
2021-22: 20-10, 6-4
2020-21: 11-12, 7-3
2019-20: 22-8, 9-1
2018-19: 23-6, 9-1
2017-18: 32-1, 10-0
2016-17: 25-7, 7-3
2015-16: 15-12, 3-7
Total: 183-64 overall, 60-21 in league