By Chris Parker
Exeter girls basketball will look to bounce back from a four-win season last year. Just two years ago, the Tigers finished with 14 wins.
The senior trio of Macy Barrett, Abbi Caddell and Hailey Mattingly will be leaders this year.
Barrett averaged 9.1 points per game while distributing a little over 2 assists per game as a junior.
“Macy is the first leader on the team,” head coach Dustin Foster said. “She’s always been dedicated to the game of basketball her whole high school career and this year won’t be any different. Macy has already set goals not only for herself but for the team as well and we hope to accomplish some of them this year.”
Caddell is the leading returning rebounder after she pulled down 144 total rebounds last year while averaging 4.8 ppg.
“Abbi is one that likes to lead by example,” Foster said. “She will do every single drill or condition we have correctly with 100 percent effort and still wants to give even more effort. She just continues to want to keep pushing herself and I am hopeful this year she will push the rest of her teammates just as hard.”
Mattingly will look to expand on her 1.6 ppg average last year.
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“Hailey is a surprise leader this year. At first I wasn’t sure if she was even going to play but so thankful she is. Hailey may not be the best basketball player we have, but she is always giving it her all no matter what aspect of the game it is whether she’s out there on the court, during practice, or on the bench. She’s got that motherly instinct and cares about not only how she’s doing but how all the other girls are doing as well which is huge for team morale day in and day out,” Foster said.
Sophomore Emma Sorensen has shown improvement in the off-season.
“Emma really surprised me with her improvement during the off-season. It has looked like a night and day difference between her freshman year and sophomore year. I feel that has to do with her confidence and ability to be more comfortable playing the game. It’ll be truly exciting to see her continue that momentum from off-season into this year,” Foster said.
Juniors Aubry Antle and Tori Rose also return. Antle averaged 7.8 ppg last year.
“Aubry is a great sharpshooter who made a great impact last year and I expect her to do the same this year. She will not only be asked to do a portion of the shooting but also the ball handling as well,” Foster said. “Last year she (Rose) filled a spot for us at the forward position and did a good job at it. This year I’m going to try and get her out of her comfort zone and move her to guard where I think she can thrive, which will also give us more depth at both positions.”
Sophomore Jasmine Hall will look for an expanded role on varsity this year.
“Jasmine got a little time at the varsity level last year and will be looking for a little more time this year. If she can refine her post moves and inside scoring she could be a threat to anyone we face,” Foster said.
Sophomores Kara Myddleton and Madison Crumpler will be new to the varsity team.
“Kara only got a few minutes at the varsity level last year and is in a position to see an increase in minutes if everything goes as planned for her. She’s a shifty guard who is good with handling the ball. If she can handle the ball and shoot with confidence she could see the playing floor a lot this year,” Foster said. “(Crumpler is an) incoming sophomore who didn’t play last year and decided to come back and give it a try. She’s got a competitive spirit and will do anything to win. She’s a lefty which could throw defenders off and surprise them.”
Freshmen Natalie Crumpler and Makenze Shaw will look to make an immediate varsity impact.
“(Crumpler) has a great basketball IQ and sees the floor well with and without the ball. She already seems comfortable playing with the upperclassmen and just needs to build a little more chemistry with them. She will continue to look to develop her scoring and defense during practice,” Foster said. “Makenze is a physical player who is very tenacious. If she can use her physicality to help her grab rebounds and score then she could see her minutes steadily rise throughout the year.”
Exeter opens the season on Nov. 23 at Southwest.
“This year I see our team as the underdogs. I think many teams that we will play this year will overlook us and we will use that as motivation to win games,” Foster said. “My expectations are for the girls to try their hardest and not settle for anything less than the best. I think if everything goes as planned we could be a mid/top team in our conference.”
