By John Miller (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the Hillcrest Lady Hornets, the upcoming basketball season will be one of youth and rebuilding. Eight lettermen and three starters graduated from last year’s team that finished with a 6-18 record and went 1-8 in the Ozark Conference. Their season ended in the opening round of districts with a 46-43 loss to Marshfield. Only two starters and two lettermen return for second year head coach Meagan Nunn.
“The great thing about this group of girls is that they truly love each other,” said Nunn. “As their coach, I want to foster that team comradery to then be seen on the floor. I believe this will create the mentality within each of them that they want to do everything they can to help the team because their focus is on the team, rather than themselves.”
Last year, the Lady Hornets averaged 44.7 points per game, but struggled to shoot the ball well. The team shot 35 percent from the field and just 25.4 percent from 3-point range. They also turned the ball over 21.2 times per game. Cleaning up the offense will be a priority for the Lady Hornets this coming season.
Among the players lost to graduation last year for Hillcrest were Sarah Hale, Kelly Tran, Madison Shafferkoetter, Lydia Conlon, Daciyah Maina, Arianna Langley, Cora Shatto, and Chloe Sutherland.
Hale was an Honorable Mention All-Conference pick last year and is now playing collegiately for Evangel.
Returning for the Lady Hornets are a pair of sophomores: Jimm’esha Davis (5’11”) and Mariah Robinson (5’6”). Davis was an All-District and All-Conference performer as a freshman. She broke four school records in rebounding and blocks. Davis averaged 12 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
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“I think we will fight hard this season,” Davis said. “We will continue to improve by putting in the hard work.”
Robinson averaged 8.8 points and 4 rebounds last season for Hillcrest. She’ll be counted on to increase that level of production this coming season.
“While a majority of our team is going to be young, I know that we will work hard and get better with each game,” Robinson said. “Plus, I know this season will be fun with this group of girls.”
Senior Grace Percival is also expected to contribute this winter for Hillcrest, leading both on and off the floor.
“I am really excited for basketball season to start,” Percival noted. “I think the team dynamic we have this year will lead to a positive experience for everyone and help us to have a successful season.”
With such a young roster, the Lady Hornets know they need to focus on themselves this year. Concerning themselves with personal development will help them not only this year but in future years, also.
“A coaching philosophy for this year is to focus on us,” said Nunn. “We will focus on our strengths, what we want to be known for, and what will help us to be the most successful regardless of who we play. With losing a majority of our varsity roster, we will be young and looking to rebuild our varsity team. I look forward to seeing who will step up and fill these open spots.”
