By Chris Parker
Cory Hanger takes over as head coach of the Buffalo girls basketball program this year. Hanger served as an assistant on last year’s team.
“There was a great group of girls coming back from last year that I was able to build some solid relationships with. When the head coach position opened up it was a pretty easy decision to go for it,” Hanger said.
He has a solid core of returning players to lean on led by seniors Bella Young and Journey Edgington.
Young will provide scoring punch from her point guard position after she averaged 16 point per game to go with 3 assists and 2.3 steals per game last year.
“Bella is a natural leader,” Hanger said. “She shows up to everything and has a great work ethic. Over the last two years she has been a team leader constantly pushing her teammates. Bella has become another coach on the court and is an excellent two-way guard. She does a great job attacking the basket and facilitating the ball.”
Edgington is also a guard. She averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year.
“Journey really started to come into a leadership role this summer,” Hanger said. “It being her last year, she has put in the work to become the best player she can be. She has a great work ethic and has grown a lot as a person in the last year. Journey is an incredible athlete and will use that athleticism to become a problem for opposing teams. She is also potentially our best defender that will guard other team’s best guard.”
A trio of seniors in Darby Armstrong (forward), Cheyenne Kenady (guard) and Audrey Vest (power forward) along with junior Reagan Carter also return.
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Armstrong contributed 6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last year.
“Darby is a great athlete. She is a good defender and rebounder,” Hanger said.
Kenady averaged 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last year.
“Cheyenne is an effort player that is all over the court and in opposing players faces constantly,” Hanger said. “Cheyenne is also one of our best perimeter shooters.”
Vest contributed 3.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last year.
“Audrey is very physical and has a high basketball IQ. She is a force in the paint,” Hanger said.
Carter scored in double figures last season with 10.9 points per game. She also contributed 6.8 rebounds per game.
“Reagan is a 6’2 center that can move really well. She has great basketball skills in the post,” Hanger said.
The junior trio of Audrey Peterson, Sadie Abercrombie and Marlee Andrews will be newcomers to the varsity level.
Hanger on Peterson: “Audrey missed last year because of an injury. She is a great athlete and defender that will give quality minutes on varsity”
Hanger on Abercrombie: “Sadie is a small fast guard that played mainly JV last year. She is a good defender and shooter.”
Hanger on Andrews: “Marlee was one of our best JV players last season. She is a great leader on the court and is another player that is always all over the court.”
Hanger will look for his players to use their athleticism to get off to strong starts.
“Our greatest strength is our athleticism. We will have some of the best athletes on the floor every night and will need to use that to our advantage,” Hanger said. “We came out slow in a lot of games last year that got us behind early, which caused us to play catch up in a lot of games. If we can learn to play four quarters consistently we can be a hard team to beat.”
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Buffalo will travel to Monett on Nov. 16 for a jamboree with Sarcoxie, Joplin and Monett. The Bison open the regular season Nov. 29-Dec. 3 at the Fair Grove Tournament.
“We haven’t had a winning season the last two years, and I believe that should change this year. We should be a competitive team and be able to compete for a district championship,” Hanger said. “We have a lot of upperclassmen that have a ton of varsity experience. We have multiple 2-3 year starters on our team and girls that have lettered varsity every year. The girls had a great summer and improved a lot and are adjusting well to playing a more up-tempo offense and defense. They have been playing together for a long time and have put in the time in the off season to be a successful team this year.”
