By Chris Parker
Wheatland girls basketball has been a consistent force over the past five seasons with at least 17 wins in each season and three district titles.
“This program has slowly been on the incline since I’ve been here,” Wheatland head coach Jeremiah Bryan said. “The girls in our basketball program are starting to be held to a higher standard. They are buying into exactly what we want and it has been a big success. We aren’t quite where we want to be, but we are getting there.”
Kennedy Griffin is the team’s lone returning all-conference selection. She earned second-team all-conference honors on the strength of her 13.7 points, 7 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.6 assists per game.
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Sami Schultz will be Wheatland’s only other senior. She scored 6.3 points to go with 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game last year.
Juniors Heavenly Lewton and Kaleigh Gautieri also return for Wheatland. Lewton scored 4.3 points per game last year while Gautieri missed last year with a knee injury. Lynze Walker and Cassy Davis both will also get minutes.
The freshman group includes Chloe Pearson, Taylor Gant, Jazmyn Baldwin, Hannah Roberts and Libby LupPlace. Pearson will step in at point guard and compete for a starting role right away. Gant and Baldwin will be fighting for time in the post. Roberts will be one of the team’s top defenders. LupPlace is a strong shooter.
“This year we have a chance to be competitive with most teams. We won’t know our true identity until around the mid-season mark,” Bryan said. “I expect this year’s team to compete every game and outwork the other team day in and day out.”
