A young Bradleyville girls team marched to a 21-4 regular season record last year that earned them the No. 1 seed in Class 1 – District 4. After winning their first two games, the Lady Eagles ultimately came up short in a 78-67 loss to No. 3 seed Couch.
That game has been on Bradleyville’s mind all offseason.
“This game was an eye opener for us going into this season,” Bradleyville head coach Autumn Thomas said. “We know that we have to work hard and really compete in the hard games to get to where we want to be at the end of this season. We are all very excited to get this season started.”
Bradleyville has been working hard in the offseason to continue the growth of a team that will return four of five starters this season.
“We played in some tough shootouts over the summer,” Thomas said. “These shootouts really pushed my girls to work hard and to work as a team. With three new freshmen coming in, they had a lot of work to do on team play and learning what their roles are going to be on the team. By the end of the summer, we were right where we wanted to be as a team.”
Everything for the Lady Eagles starts with senior all-state selection Kourtney Shipley. Shipley averaged a team-high 24.5 points per game along with five assists per game. No other player averaged double figures for Bradleyville. She also knocked down 103 3-point shots for Bradleyville.
“Kourtney brings so much to our team. One of her best qualities as a player is that she can be so explosive on offense,” Thomas said. “I expect some big numbers and high scoring games from Kourtney again this season. She has the ability to light it up on any given night. I also know that she will get her team involved in every single game, as she will have a good team around her again this season. This will be key for us if we want to get to where we want to be this season.”
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Shipley currently sits at 1,564 career points, which puts the 2,000-point mark well within her reach. She will be aiming for the Bradleyville record of 2,206 career points. She also has 223 3-point makes in her career. She had a career-best 51 points in a district game last year that saw her knock down 11 3-point shots.
Bradleyville’s second-leading scorer last season was Kourtney’s younger sister Gracie Shipley who put up 9.9 points per game and pulled down a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game as a freshman.
“Gracie is a big asset to our team because she can play any position on the floor,” Thomas said. “She has worked hard all summer improving her game and I expected her to put up some big numbers this year playing as our post player. She has that knack to know where the ball is and really excels under and around the basket.”
Senior Dorian Hayes and junior Anna Turner return to the starting lineup this year. Hayes scored 6.5 points per game and added 5.5 rebounds each contest. Turner scored 5.5 points along with 3 rebounds and assists per game.
Emily Williams was the first player off the bench as a freshman and will see a lot of time this year after averaging 5.3 points per game.
Freshman Maddie Shipley could off Bradleyville three sisters on the court at any time. Fellow freshman Tay Sims will also see varsity time.
Bradleyville will look to make it one step further into the state tournament this season with its wealth of experience returning.
“I have very high expectations for these girls this coming season. I want these girls to work hard every single practice and every single game to achieve the goals we have set,” Thomas said. “We have the talent, speed, and height to do very well this season. We have set our goals pretty high in hopes to be right there with the best of them at the end. This group of girls can go far this season if they have and keep the right mind set the entire season. We are very excited to see what this season may bring.”
Bradleyville opens the season on Nov. 21 at Blue Eye.
