By John Miller
If fans are looking for a good barometer on how the Conway Lady Bears will be this season, the season opener might be a good place to start.
“Our first game this year is against one of the favorites in our district, Willow Springs,” said fourth-year coach Michael Lewis. “It will be a good test to see where we are.”
Last year, the Lady Bears finished with a 10-16 record, including a 1-5 mark in the Summit Conference. An opening round district loss to Fair Grove ended Conway’s season.
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Three players from last year’s squad are no longer with the Lady Bears. Riley Luallin, an All-Conference selection last year, has graduated. “Riley has been our leader as a player and in the locker room the last couple years,” Lewis said. “She was a tremendous player and led us in most statistical categories. Her versatility as a scorer, both inside and outside, caused teams to key in on her.”
Also gone from last year are Aizea Bidaurrazaga, known to her teammates as “Z”, who was a foreign exchange student, and Emmi Bailey, who has moved out of the district.
“’Z’ brought a lot of energy off the bench and helped eat up minutes when things like injuries or foul trouble plagued us,” Lewis said. “Emmi was a solid, hard-working role player who moved out of the district. We will miss her work ethic and motor very much this year.”
In addition to those losses, Conway will also be without junior forward Olivia Dill until after Christmas, due to suffering an ACL injury during the summer. Dill averaged 14 points and 11.5 rebounds last year for Conway.
Needless to say, this year’s version of the Conway Lady Bears will be heavily inexperienced and should expect to face some bumps and bruises early in the season, especially without Dill in the lineup.
Returning for the Lady Bears are juniors Maddie Archer and Tessa Vaughn and sophomore Halee Tucker. Archer, a 5-foot-5 guard, averaged 4 points and 2.2 steals, while Vaughn, a 5-foot-8 guard/forward, averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds last year.
“Maddie is a crafty defender that battled injuries last year,” Lewis said. “She’ll look to rebound this year with a strong season. Tessa is a gritty defender that, at times, can be a big impact on the boards. Among other adjustments, if Tessa can rebound more consistently this year, we will be able to surprise some people.”
Tucker averaged 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds last year from the guard position. “Halee is a quick guard who can knock down the open shot and create off the dribble,” Lewis said. “Last year, she was an occasional starter, but we look for her to solidify her position this year and help lead our backcourt.”
If the Lady Bears are to take a step forward this season, they’ll need production from their newcomers. Seniors Lexi Atteberry and Graysen Patten, sophomore Dezaray Nutt, and freshmen Cassie Vestal, Rhiannon Walton, and Lilly Thurman will all be counted on to contribute.
Atteberry, Patten, and Nutt are all volleyball players that are returning to play basketball after a couple years away from the sport. “We hope they can help bring the energy and hard work they used to help the volleyball team make some great strides this year to the basketball court,” Lewis said.
As for his entire team, Lewis is optimistic that they have the pieces to be competitive this year.
“We are a young team trying to transition to a new style of play,” Lewis said. “It will be all about the learning curve. We are smaller, but we have more girls that can handle the ball and score. It is going to take some time for the younger girls to learn their jobs and learn what things they need to focus on.”
