By Chris Parker
MV-BT Liberty girls basketball has been a consistent winner over the past half-decade finishing at least nine games over .500 in four of the last five seasons.
Liberty graduated three seniors from last year’s team including First-Team All-SCA selections Kaitlyn King and Kinley Richards. They may have graduated, but their impact will continue to be felt this year.
“These two young ladies coupled with Belle Smith were so much more than just great players,” Liberty head coach Eli Ernst said. “Within our program, former players are still being leaned on for support by our current players. They are constantly communicating back in forth with our girls. This summer they even showed up at a few of our summer games. While they aren’t on the floor anymore with us, they still have a very valuable place in the culture of our program.”
Lexi Shumpert earned second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore. She averaged 14.1 ppg to finish second on the team while also pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game.
Her role will grow this year.
“She has to continue to develop her game and be the player she knows she can be. We are blessed by her leadership and anticipate her skills from this standpoint will only grow,” Ernst said. “We love her drive and dedication to the program. She has seen tons of big games and our young roster will now be leaning on her. The coaching staff sees a lot of upside to Lexi and believes she is one of the better players in our conference. Lexi brings toughness to our team and a willingness to do whatever it takes to help her team win.”
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Abby Woolsey is the other returning all-conference player. The junior was named honorable mention all-conference last season after she scored 13.2 points per game to go with 5 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2 assists per game.
“Abby is a player who has played a lot and never seems to put her basketball away. She is a competitor who believes her best games are always just right around the corner. With her experience, we will ask Abby to simply continue to be Abby,” Ernst said. “Abby is a dynamic player that can play any spot on the floor. All five. This ability has evolved over the last couple of years as shown she can score from a variety of different avenues on the floor.”
Sophomore Chloe Kelts and freshman Reagan Wells have both shown great improvement in the off-season.
Kelts saw action in 23 varsity games as a freshman.
“Chloe is a guard for us that is very streaky. We will need to see her game become more consistent on the varsity floor this year. The coaching staff has seen her ability to shoot it from the outside, but what we saw this summer and in the off-season with her attacking the basket has everyone excited for her to take the next step,” Ernst said.
Wells brings good size to the guard position.
“Reagan is a gym rat. You will find her every morning in a gym working on her game. At nearly 5’10, she will be a matchup nightmare for smaller guards,” Ernst said. “She shoots it really well from the outside and has a nice midrange game to complement her offensive skill sets. She is definitely one freshman to watch this year as she will only get better.”
Junior Kenna Woolsey is a returning starter for Liberty who averaged 6.8 points per game.
“Kenna is a returning starter for us. She is super-fast and a great on the ball defender. She is one of the hardest workers we have and holds herself very accountable for her play. She will be tasked with the challenge of guarding the other team’s top guard,” Ernst said.
Sophomore Sydnee LaFevers brings versatility to the court.
“Sydnee has a tremendous length to her game and is yet another player that can play multiple positions on the floor. She has a tremendous grasp on the playbook and has a strong drive to her to have a breakout kind of year for us,” Ernst said.
Lyla Cornman also returns for her sophomore year after seeing varsity action last year.
“Lyla is a very strong and tough player,” Ernst said. “She is very physical and has a unique ability to use her strength to find her shots off the dribble or in the paint on the offensive glass.”
The freshman trio of Grace Berkshire, Maci Tharp and Macy Bolander will all look to make an immediate varsity impact.
“We want to continue to be a tough opponent for everyone we play. We have built our program around being a team that will outwork people and does the jobs on the floor our teams don’t enjoy doing,” Ernst said. “We believe our play on the court is only part of the development of this year’s team. We challenge our athletes to become a family and to model this on and off the floor. We believe graduation doesn’t change the culture.”
Liberty opens the season on Dec. 8 at Fordland.
“We recognize our youth and for some teams that is a negative statement. We are excited about our underclassmen and can’t wait to zip them in with our veteran varsity ballplayers,” Ernst said. “This team’s most significant attribute could be the maturity of our returning players coupled with the energy from our newcomers.”
