By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
2022 proved to be a bit of a rebuild for a young and relatively inexperienced Willard basketball squad.
While the team finished with a losing record at 13-16, the Tigers made it all the way to the Class 5 District 6 final before falling to Carl Junction.
Graduates Brielle Adamson, Morgan Hall and Madison Mills departed the program over the summer, along with former head coach J.J. Adamson, who moves over to coach the Willard boys.
New head coach Luke Floyd, previously at Joplin and Rolla, steps in to take over a program looking to improve this season.
“Our team had its ups and downs last season and, unfortunately, we weren’t as consistent as we could have been,” Floyd said. “We had a lot of young ladies who were thrust into starting roles and were asked to take on much larger roles than had been previously asked of them.
“I think we have a very talented, hard-working group of girls that are excited for the season. Coach Adamson and his staff have done an outstanding job making this a great program and I’m looking forward to getting to be a part of it.”
A trio of seniors will lead the Tigers this season in Kailyn Washington (10.4 PPG, 5.3 Rebs, 3.7 Assists, 2.6 Steals), Carolina Crawford (11.0 PPG, 2.7 Rebs, 2.4 Assists, 2.2 Steals) and Emma Howard (1.3 PPG, 1.1 Rebs, .4 Assists, .4 Steals).
“We have a great group of seniors in Kailyn, Carolina, and Emma,” Floyd said. “They have been very vocal this summer and off season. We have a lot of youth in our program, so to have seniors that are willing to embrace the young girls and welcome them to the program has been awesome to see.”
Junior Karli Wheeler (2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and sophomore Kenadie Johnson (2.7ppg, 2.4 rpg) also return to the varsity lineup.
In addition to its returning core, Willard will benefit from a pair of varsity newcomers in transfer junior Scarlett Floyd and freshman Elise Murray.
“I think we have a very talented, hard-working group of girls that are excited for the season,” Coach Floyd said. “We hope to be a competitive team that guards well and forces our opponents to work hard to cover our shooters. In order for us to achieve our goals, we will have to stay healthy, stay out of foul trouble, and play bigger than our actual size.”
With a roster blessed with both speed and quickness, Coach Floyd plans to utilize pressure in order to dictate game tempo and capitalize on transition opportunities.
“We want to play at a fast pace,” Coach Floyd said. “We want to use our speed and quickness to guard the full court. Offensively, we want to push the ball, attack the basket, and look to kick to our shooters. The challenge with that is going to be able to play under control at that pace. In order for all of this to happen, we are going to have to develop depth within our program and get our girls to buy into their roles.”
For the Tigers to meet expectations and improve on last season’s record, Coach Floyd believes overall team health will be a primary factor.
“Playing the style we hope to play, it’s going to be paramount that we stay healthy throughout the season,” Floyd said. “We have such a small margin of error that we need to be firing on all cylinders every night.”
Following a Nov. 14 home jamboree with Mt. Vernon and Blue Eye, Willard tips off its season Nov. 21 at Glendale.
