By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Inconsistent play hampered West Plains throughout the 2018-19 campaign, according to longtime head coach Scott Womack.
The Lady Zizzers finished with an 18-10 record, falling 38-31 in the district championship to Rogersville.
“We played very inconsistent last season — maybe winning games we shouldn’t — but also losing three or four that we should have won,” Womack said. “Hopefully, we gained confidence and experience that will carry over to this year.”
Entering his 28th season at the helm, Womack will look to replace the production from a trio of graduated seniors in Hailey Meeks, Morgan Mahan and Liesel Garrett.
Meeks will continue her basketball career at Evangel this season.
“I am really looking forward to this season,” Womack said. “Although we lost three very good seniors from last year’s team, I feel we have some very talented core players returning to give us a chance to be successful this season. These seniors were good leaders with Hailey and Morgan being two-year starters the past two years.”
Despite the graduation losses, Womack has good reason to be optimistic, as all-state selection MacKenzie Brunson (14 ppg, 4 rpg) returns to lead the Lady Zizzer attack.
A 5-foot-7 junior, Brunson has an opportunity to eclipse the 1,000-point mark during the season.
She will be joined by senior forward Cassidy Cunningham (8 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior point guard Bre Harlan (6 ppg).
Cunningham could reach the 500 career rebound milestone this season.
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West Plains also welcomes several varsity newcomers to its roster, including senior Alli Holesapple, junior Maya Mayfield, sophomore Ashton Judd, freshman Drew Harris, sophomore Megan McCrackin and junior Jade Barry.
While the roster will feature a host of new faces, Womack believes the leadership and experience provided by his core trio will make a difference early on.
“Experience should carry us early in the season,” Womack said. “These girls have played in some big games in their careers. They have great attitudes and want to be successful. We need to become more consistent as a team game-in and game-out, especially on the offensive end of the floor.”
In addition to an always-difficult Ozark Conference featuring the likes of Kickapoo and Rolla, West Plains will see plenty of early tests on a schedule that includes Rogersville, Ozark and Nixa.
For the undersized Lady Zizzers to be successful, Womack feels his team must take advantage in other areas.
“We are not very big, so rebounding is an area of concern,” Womack said. “We will have to be fundamentally sound on the defensive end of the floor and finish each possession.”
One of those advantages West Plains will look to exploit is its perimeter shooting.
“We have some very good shooters who have worked to improve during the off-season,” Womack said. “If we become consistent from the perimeter we have a chance for a very successful season.”
While outside shooting could turn out to be a difference-maker, the Lady Zizzer defense will continue to set the competitive tone in Womack’s system.
“We will continue to rely on the defensive end of the floor to be our staple but I feel this is team is capable of excelling on the offensive end this year,” Womack said. “If we keep a good team attitude and work on both ends of the floor we will compete for both a conference and district championship.”
Following a Nov. 19 jamboree at Nixa, West Plains opens its season at home Nov. 25 against Willow Springs.
