By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It’s not always about how you start, it’s about how you finish, and that was the story for the Marshfield Lady Jays last season.
“We were a young team last season, and that really showed the first half of it,” said Katie Pritchard, who enters her fifth year as Marshfield’s head coach. “We had a lot of growing pains initially and were trying to find our identity. We were 8-7 going into the second half of the season when things started to click. We banded together and were able to go on a run to finish out the season.”
That finish included a 20-8 overall record and a 6-1 Big 8 East record and co-championship. In addition, the Lady Jays advanced to the Class 5 District 5 semifinals where they fell to eventual Class 5 champion West Plains.
There were no seniors on last year’s Lady Jays’ squad and they return just one senior starter coming into this season, plus four juniors.
• Lauren Luebbert, 5-foot-11 junior. Averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game; earned Big 8 East Player of the Year and first-team honors, and was an all-district selection. “Lauren is a competitor who plays with an edge on both ends of the floor,” Pritchard said. “She is a threat from anywhere on the floor, with her ability to both score from the outside and get inside to post up at the block. She takes great pride in her defense, and brings intensity and tenacity to that end.”
• Abby McBride, 5-8 junior. Averaged 13.4 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg, 2 spg; was an all-district, all-conference first-team and defensive team selection. “Abby is a gifted athlete that impacts all aspects of the game. She a lights-out, 3-point shooter who can also counter that by getting to the rim. She is an excellent on-ball defender and is always up for the challenge of picking up the other team’s best scorer.”
• Riley Manary, 5-11 senior. Averaged 3 ppg and 4 rpg. “Our lone senior, Riley Manary, brings great leadership, especially through her work ethic. She does a lot of the little things that go unnoticed but mean so much to the success of the team.”
• Lillie Findley, 5-7 junior (5 ppg, 3 rpg, 1 apg, 1 spg) and Halle Menzies, 5-6 junior (2 ppg, 2 rpg) “played a significant amount of minutes for us last season. They both bring special attributes to the table that make us better.”
Pritchard says the Lady Jays have a solid group of freshmen with a few who could make an impact on the varsity level this season.
“We are really excited for this upcoming season,” Pritchard said. “We return the core of our team. We had many sophomores last season that got a lot of experience at the varsity level. They are returning as upperclassmen hoping to build upon their growth and success from last year.
“We are going to put a lot of focus on the defensive side of the floor. We take pride in playing hard on defense and working together as one unit. We return our two leading scorers from last season, but we have other pieces around them that we think will make us more dynamic on offense.”
Marshfield will host a jamboree with Waynesville and Fair Grove on Nov. 15 before opening the regular season on the road at Rolla on Nov. 18.
“We added some really good teams to our schedule this season,” Pritchard said. “We are looking forward to the challenges those teams will bring, and the growth that will come from it.”
