By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Glendale Lady Falcons head into the 2021-22 season with a new head coach, but a coach the Lady Falcons know well – former Glendale assistant, Dan Stander.
Stander served as an assistant to former head coach Trish Marsh the last four years and will be taking over the reins this season. Not only is Stander a familiar face at Glendale but also in southwest Missouri.
Stander, who has a career record of 302-315, has spent 36 years on the sidelines as a head coach including stops at Marionville, Billings, Willard, Greenfield, Central and Springfield Catholic, and has served as an assistant at Southwest Baptist University, Republic and most recently, Glendale.
“Most new head coaches at this point would be trying to figure out where the team is at and what to expect,” Stander said. “In my case, it is a much easier transition. Having been the JV coach for the past four years, I have watched these kids come up through the program and I feel I have a pretty good handle on just where we are and what we need to do to have success this year.”
Glendale finished 5-17 overall and 1-10 in the Ozark Conference last season but were more competitive than its record shows. Nine of the Lady Falcons’ losses were by nine or few points with five of those by three points or less.
“When you finish 5-17, it is sometimes hard to find successful moments, but there was one win during our season that stands out,” Stander said. “It was when we beat Clever 38-37 at home. Our kids took our game plan and ran it to perfection.”
Stander said the Lady Falcons had a great offseason as they work to replace the loss of four players to graduation – Kayla Brady, Kayla Craft, Lydia Potter and all-district and all-conference point guard Emily Phillips (9.2 points, 2.0 assists per game, 30 percent from 3-point line, 76.2 free-throw percentage.)
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“Our preseason workouts saw on average 25 athletes that were in attendance,” Stander said. “I was able to get to know the newcomers as well as visit with our returners about their thoughts on the season.”
The Lady Falcons will feature a fairly young lineup led by 5-foot-11 junior forward Reilly Heman, an all-conference defensive team selection who averaged 7.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
“Reilly will have to take up the slack left by the graduates,” Stander said. “She will have to lead our team in both defense and offense and will be asked to lead this young and inexperienced team.”
• Alyvia Goddard, 5-7 senior forward – Averaged 2.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg. “Alyvia will have to help on both the offensive and defensive boards as well as helping with the scoring effort.”
• Anna Sallee, 5-6 senior guard – Averaged 2.5 ppg. “Anna will help run the offense and be a big factor on the defensive end. She will also be a 3-point threat from the outside as well.”
• Rachel Flewell, 5-11 junior forward – Averaged 4.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg. “Rachel will have to be an inside influence on the boards as well as on offense. She will also be a presence on the defensive end as well.”
• Skylar Bencsek, 5-5 junior guard – “Skylar will also help orchestrate the offense as well as spark our defensive effort.”
• Shanya Shade, 5-7 junior guard – “Shanya will be another one that will help our defensive effort and will contribute to our offense as well.”
A few of the newcomers Stander has coming in include junior Meegan Randall (5-6 guard), senior Emma England (5-9 center) and sophomore Avery Givens (5-7 guard).
“Meegan will help with some depth on the offensive and defensive efforts,” Stander said. “Emma will be a great backup in the post area when called upon, and Avery will be a strong defender for us and will definitely help us on offense.”
The Lady Falcons open their season on the road at two of Stander’s former stops – Springfield Catholic (Nov. 19) and Willard (Nov. 22).
“I have always considered myself to be a defensive coach, counting on good defense to, in turn, create good offense,” Stander said. “With the loss of four starters to graduation, we have definitely lost a good amount of our scoring. I plan to turn that deficiency around by playing great defense, an up-tempo game and utilizing several players.”
