By Jeff Kessinger (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Glendale’s Lady Falcons look to build on last year’s 4-21 record with several new faces this winter.
“We are looking forward to this upcoming campaign and will be looking to improve on last season’s record,” Glendale coach Trish Marsh said. “We are going to be a team that will need to rely on our quickness and athleticism. We have been emphasizing the importance of team chemistry and working to gel the returners with a good mixture of newcomers.”
Gone are three starters from last season, including Hannah Pinkston. The guard/forward combo has moved on to Truman State University after a stellar career on the Southside. She earned all-conference and all-district honors her senior season.
“(Pinkston) was a very big key to our success last year,” Marsh said. “Her versatility and ability to create scoring opportunities will be missed.”
Marsh is entering her third season as head coach at Glendale, though this is her second stint with the Lady Falcons. She served as an assistant coach under Nyla Milleson from 1994-1999, helping Glendale win a state championship in 1996. Marsh was also an assistant on Milleson’s staffs at Drury University and Missouri State University.
This year’s Glendale squad does return two starters and three letterwinners, including Marsh’s daughter Madison. She averaged nearly 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal as a junior. Also back is Emily Phillips. The 5-foot-6 junior also chipped in 6 points per night to go along with a rebound and 2 assists.
“I am looking forward to this season,” Madison Marsh said. “Our team had a good summer and did some very good things on the court with a new roster of girls. I am excited to get going and see what we can do this year.”
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That roster includes juniors Kayla Brady, Kayla Craft and Lydia Potter, and sophomore Sunshine Stover.
“(Brady) is very good off the dribble and getting to the rim,” Trish Marsh said. “She is also one of our best ballhandlers in our program and will be asked to share point guard responsibilities. (Craft) will be a versatile player in our system that feels comfortable at the guard spot, but can also step inside and help us at the post position.”
Potter, like Craft, checks in at 5-foot-8 and will give the Lady Falcons some more muscle in the paint.
“(Potter) is an explosive athlete that will provide a solid rebounder in our lineup and provide an inside presence,” Marsh said.
Glendale can use that presence. The Lady Falcons were outrebounded by their foes by an average of 34-29 last season. Stover is the tallest of the bunch, at 5-foot-9. But don’t expect her to camp out in the lane.
“(She) is going to provide us some much-needed depth and has the versatility to play multiple spots.”
Glendale’s schedule will be challenging this season. They face their usual slate of Ozark Conference foes, whom they went 1-9 against last season, before moving on to district play. Class 5 district pairings had not been announced by MSHSAA as of Oct. 28, but Marsh and assistant coaches Dan Stander, Jeff Mason, Kim Deines aren’t worried about that tournament just yet.
“Every game is big for us as we look to improve throughout the season,” Marsh said.
