By Chris Parker
Sarcoxie girls basketball will be looking for a sixth consecutive winning season this year, but the Lady Bears will have a big hole to fill with the graduation of all-time program great Annette Ramirez. Ramirez scored 1,887 career points. She averaged 26.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.9 steals and 1.9 assists per game last season.
“A player like Annette Ramirez is irreplaceable. She will leave a legacy for years to come in the players she has influenced all the way down into her involvement in youth sports. She truly was the definition of a role model and set a great example with her attitude and leadership in all she did,” Sarcoxie head coach April Ellis said. “I don’t think we can replace Annette with someone specifically who is expected to score 20-30 points a night. What we will do is distribute her offensive role to all five players on the floor.”
It will truly be a committee approach for Sarcoxie girls basketball this year.
“I look for Myra Caddick (senior) to lead our offense and defensive guard play with a host of other veteran players in Amara Meier (senior) and Jocelyn Benito (junior),” Ellis said. “Kaydence Lee (junior) will use her experience she gained in the paint to cause problems on both ends of the floor for teams. Her size along with Kaylan Anderson (junior) and Jacey Roth (senior) should keep us fresh and strong under the rim throughout the game.”
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Katie Lopez will also see varsity action as a sophomore.
“I look for Katie Lopez to make an immediate impact on our team,” Ellis said. “She is a very talented player and works extremely hard. I think she could surprise some other teams with her offensive ability.”
The saying goes that tradition doesn’t graduate. This year’s group has experienced nothing but winning seasons in their careers and hopes to keep that streak going this year.
“Our strength has always been in our attitude. Our program is 86-33 over the past 5 years. We look to continue that mentality of a winning tradition and work hard on both ends of the floor,” Ellis said. “There is always room for improvement. Our kids will be jumping into different roles offensively and that may take some time to adjust to.”
Sarcoxie will attend a jamboree in Monett before opening the regular season on Nov. 19 at New Covenant.
“We expect this team to continue a winning tradition,” Ellis said. “They are veteran players who know the expectation of the program. We lost the majority of our scoring with Tiah and Annette last year, but that doesn’t mean the others weren’t capable. Their roles will be different.”
