By Chris Parker
Seymour girls basketball will continue to play strong defense this year, but the offensive game will be a little faster.
“We’re going to defend well,” Seymour head coach Derrick Jessen said. “These players have grown since last year, and they know my expectations when it comes to defense. I’m also going to loosen up the reins in transition and let them run the floor this year. As long as we don’t turn the ball over I expect us to be a lot faster than last year.”
That faster play will hopefully increase Seymour’s scoring production. The Lady Tigers averaged 49 points per game across 23 games with 10 wins last year.
Two seniors and a junior return to lead the team this year. Those three are: Hailey Felton (senior forward), Madelyn Kyle (senior guard) and Lillie Rasmussen (junior forward).
Felton is a four-year varsity player who was a second-team all-district and honorable mention all-conference selection last year. She scored 8.8 points with 8.5 rebounds per game last year.
Kyle is a senior point guard.
“Madelyn is a smart player that helps our younger players. She isn’t afraid to be vocal,” Jessen said.
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Rasmussen earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors as a sophomore. She averaged 16.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last year.
“Lillie has the chance to be one of the better basketball players in our area,” Jessen said. “She is a threat both offensively and defensively. She brings a competitiveness that our other players can feed off of.”
Junior guard Adria Sturdefant along with sophomores Katelynn Smith (guard) and Jadyn Johnson (forward) also return for Seymour.
Jessen on Smith: “She was our best defender last year. She’s going to take a step up in our varsity rotation and potentially look to push for a starting spot.”
Jessen on Johnson: “Jadyn is another pure athlete. She’s fast and has a knack for getting her hands on the ball on defense.”
Jessen on Sturdefant: “She is a player that can play multiple positions. She will be asked to do that for us this year, and I don’t doubt she will succeed with it.
Newcomers to watch include: Kenzie Gage (junior guard), Elisa Valbuena (sophomore guard) and Addison Ridenour (freshman forward).
Length and speed will be strengths for Seymour, but ball security will be key to the Lady Tigers’ success.
“We have length and speed to do well on defense. These girls will look to apply pressure and hopefully force turnovers while holding teams to one shot. The quickness that we have on this team should allow us to get points in transition,” Jessen said. “We will have to take care of the ball. Limiting turnovers was a huge focus last year, and I feel that we have gotten better in that area. It will still be a focus in practice for us. If we can keep our turnovers below 15 we will have a chance to be in a lot of ball games this year.”
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Seymour opens the regular season on Nov. 22 at home against Forsyth.
“This team is expected to compete every night,” Jessen said. “It may not always translate into wins, but we want to put ourselves in position to do so. Our schedule is tougher this year, but we expect that it will make us better to make a district push.”
