By Scott Vanscoy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Mark Vert begins his third season as head coach of the Galena Lady Bears and will be looking to improve on last year’s 6-20 record. The Lady Bears finished seventh in the SWCL, winning just one game in the conference. Vert, who is in his 35th season as a head basketball coach, believes in his team’s potential and likes their work ethic.
“All of the problems of last year’s team can be fixed if our players will buy into the system and play together,” said Vert. “Being a good teammate must become a priority every day we come to practice.”
Lost to graduation are Ashley Greenway and Alison Stephens. Greenway was a threat from outside and Stephens will be missed as one of the top rebounders.
Senior Megan Caulfield, an All District Class 2 District 11 and All SWCL Second Team member, will be one of the key players for the Lady Bears. The 6’1” Caulfield averaged 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds last season. Caulfield will be asked to elevate her game to the next level by improving on her inside game while raising her free throw and three point percentages. She will be asked to use her athleticism to make strides on defense as well.
“Our outside game must improve if we are to see us play a complete game,” said Caulfield. “We must overcome our inexperience from a year ago. We will be a more balanced all-around team with the experience that our young players gained last year.”
Senior Mary Yocum is the other upperclassman to join Caulfield. Yocum averaged 8.8 points last season and will look to improve her three point shot, while at the same time handling the ball and attacking the basket.
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“I am so excited to see the growth of last year’s freshmen, both individually and how they mesh with the team,” said Yocum. “We are going to play hard and have fun.”
Five sophomores return as letterwinners for the Lady Bears. They are: Abby Rice, Britney Doucey, Madison Jennings, Katelyn Lebow, and Rebecca Baker. As freshmen many of these were thrown into a varsity game and never flinched.
Rice (5’6”) started all 26 games last year and averaged almost 4 points per game. She is looking forward to seeing how Galena will put all of their hard offseason work into games situations.
“I look for her (Rice) to have a breakout year,” said Vert. “She was thrown into the deep end of the pool last year and responded really well.”
Doucey dominated some games last year as a freshman. She will be asked to be consistently dominant in the paint as a scorer and improve as a rebounder.
Jennings, Lebow and Baker were pressed into action last season and the speed of the varsity game took some getting used to. This season they are improved and may just surprise some.
Junior Mikayla Cloud and freshmen Emily Crider and Haileigh Lentz round out the roster. They add athleticism to an already athletic team.
Galena must improve on last year’s 37 points per game; that will start with improving both their field goal and free throw percentages. They will also need to cut down on their turnovers, as well.
This year’s edition of the Lady Bears is learning to believe in each other, trust each other and play together as a team.
“Our players must understand that they must do their jobs and do it well,” said Vert. “We must shoot the basketball much better than last season. We have to be much better defensively, guard with passion and position. We have some pieces that, if put together correctly, could be a very good team.”
