By Calen VanNess
In his first year at the helm, Bakersfield girls’ basketball head coach Andrew Eckman is ready to improve upon a season in which his team were the champions of the White River Conference a year ago. With many of his core players returning, the Lions have the chance to make some noise in district play.
After finishing the season with a record of 13-11 (4-0 in the White River Conference) and a first-round district loss, the Lions only lost two players to graduation. Leila Tefft averaged over 5 points per game and was the team leader, and Destiny Johnson averaged over 9 points per game and was a key three-point shooter.
Although Tefft and Johnson will be missed this season, Bakersfield returns four experienced starters in Syrena Carter, who won the White River Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore last season, junior Mariah Burnett (all-conference selection), senior Jacelyn McCormick (all-conference selection) and sophomore McKenzie Lester.
“Syrena was a force inside and definitely deserved POY,” said Eckman. “She has worked hard this offseason and will be relied upon a lot this year for her scoring and rebounding. Mariah is our top rebounder and one of our best defenders. Jacelyn is a key shooter for us and sees the floor well. McKenzie was a great freshman point guard. She is one of the quickest players I’ve seen, and I am excited to see what the season has in store for her.”
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Along with these experienced players come a host of newcomers that are looking to help this team succeed. Junior Natalie McKee is back after taking last year off and will contribute offensively. Freshman Andrea Yount is a great ball handler and has great quickness. Sophomore Kassandra Watlington is expected to be a force inside. Sophomore Tiffany Daughtery could see some minutes this season as she has improved her shot over the summer. Senior Krystal Foster may be the best defenders for the Lions and plays with a tenacity only matched by a few, and Shelby Summers is strong and quick and will see some minutes as a freshman this season.
“With only losing two players from last year’s team, I feel that we have a lot of experience coming back and have had a year to grow even more,” said Eckman of his team. “The girls are all excited and have high expectations for the upcoming year. We have a lot of great leaders on our team, and I expect us to do some great things.”
Eckman also praised the offseason work his players put in and believes the Lions team can meet, and possibly exceed, the goals they have set for themselves.
“I feel like I have the athletes and a group of girls that are committed to the program,” he said. “They worked hard over the summer, and I really feel like we all mesh well together. I feel like if we can work a team from the defensive side, we will be successful. Coming off a conference championship last year, winning another one is definitely one of our main goals.”
Eckman looks at every game as another chance to improve.
“Each and every game is an important game in getting us better [prepared] for district and conference play,” he said. “[Our] district and conference are going to be competitive, but if we come together as a team, we have a good shot at being a top contender.”
The Lions will open the season at home against Yellville-Summit on Nov. 18.
