By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Miller Lady Cardinals will have a familiar face leading them this season as Ryan White takes over head coaching duties for the 2022-2023 season.
White has spent all five years of his coaching career at Miller, both as an assistant for the boys’ team and as the assistant for the girls’ team last year.
The Lady Cardinals finished 23-4 overall last year, 7-0 in the Southwest Conference and captured their fourth-straight district championship before falling to Blue Eye in the sectional round.
“The team really got going when they defeated El Dorado Springs in the Stockton Tournament after losing to them earlier in the year,” White said. “This win was huge for Miller as they did it without their four-year starter and two-time all-stater Kaylee Helton.”
The Lady Cardinals lost three highly decorated players to graduation in 2022 and more than 30 points per game.
• Claudia Hadlock, averaged 17.5 points, 3 steals and 6 rebounds per game. She was named Class 2 All-State, All-District, Conference Player of the year and first-team All-Conference. Now playing at Cottey College. “With Claudia graduating, we are losing a crucial part of our program’s success,” White said. “She has been a starter for four years and has led the team in many statistical categories. We will miss her ability to handle the basketball and score points. But most importantly, we will miss her vocal leadership.”
• Kaylee Helton, averaged 12 ppg, 2.6 spg and 4 rpg. Earned all-district, first-team all-conference honors and was a two-time all-state selection. Will serve as an assistant coach for the Lady Cardinals this season. “Not having Kaylee Helton (on the floor) this season is going to be a huge adjustment for our program. Kaylee is one of the foundational pieces that this program has built upon. I believe Kaylee was the biggest mismatch that our level had for four years. You can’t teach what she could do.”
• Payten Richardson, averaged 6 ppg, 2.3 spg and 3.5 rpg. Named all-district and second-team all-conference. “Losing Payten will hurt us both defensively and offensively. Payten also had a skill that you cannot teach. Her speed was unmatched on a basketball court. Payten’s speed with a basketball in her hands allowed her to break down the defense and pass to the open man. She was very unselfish in passing the basketball. We are losing a very good team player.”
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White wants to build upon the tradition that has been set at Miller over the past five years and that starts with his three returning seniors.
• Alyssa Hill, 5-5 guard. Averaged 7.8 ppg, 2 spg, 2 rpg and was named honorable mention all-conference and all-district. “Alyssa has been a starter for the program for the last three years,” White said. “She is the only returning member with postseason honors. We expect Rose (Alyssa) to rise as our vocal leader this season. Rose is our most consistent shooter and will be asked to not only shoot but handle the ball more than she has in the past. We expect her to score at a high level this season.”
• Haylie Schnake, 5-8 guard/forward. Averaged 2.6 ppg, 1.5 spg, 3.2 rpg. “Schnake was not asked to contribute much offensively last season. But with her athletic ability, we believe she can score the basketball. We are going to ask her to continue being a defensive force, but to improve as an offensive threat. When Schnake plays with confidence, we believe she is an all-conference/all-district player.”
• Hailey Mart, 5-8 guard. Averaged 3 ppg and 2 rpg. “Mart had the chance to start last season for about five games. In these five games, we as a program felt that we found a secret weapon. She showed that she can play at the highest level against the best teams. She was a crucial part in the El Dorado Springs win. This season, we expect Mart to improve upon the experiences she gained and help us on both ends of the court. We are excited to see growth in her this season.”
“This is a really special group of seniors,” White said. “Last year, this group was a part of a basketball, volleyball and softball district championship. Even with the past success, this group has a chip on their shoulders, to prove that teams now led by them can still dominate. It is a blessing for me to not only coach this group but to get to witness their great leadership.”
Other returnees White will be counting on are Kendall Neely, a 5-11 sophomore center who averaged 2 ppg and 2 rpg, Alexis Bailey, 5-2 sophomore guard and Kaylee Thorn, a 5-5 sophomore guard.
“Kendall will be our post presence this season,” White said. “Last season, she didn’t get to see much action. We hope to be able to involve her in our game plan each time out. Her size and inside scoring ability gives us another layer.”
White said he tried to keep things simple and intentional this summer in preparation for this season.
“I believe simplicity allows us to just go out and let natural ability take over,” White said. “This summer, we spent our time and efforts on fundamentals and competing amongst ourselves.
“With the group we have returning and coming up, we did a great job of pushing each other and not having to go play in a bunch of shootouts. This summer was about us pushing us, so when we get finally play (other players), we are more excited than ever.”
The Lady Cardinals have some freshmen coming in who could make an impact this season.
• Ashlynn Helton, 5-8 guard. “Ashlynn is coming into the program expected to take on the majority of ballhandling duties,” White said. “She is very skilled with the basketball and sees the court well. With her being a bigger guard, we believe she will be a problem offensively for most teams. Ashlyn scores well inside and is working to improve her 3-point shooting ability.”
• Loghann Leivan, 5-8 forward. “Loghann is a big, skilled forward that has the ability to score at all three levels. With her size and speed, we expect her to be an offensive weapon. Defensively, she has the speed and strength to guard 1-5. What we like most about Loghann, is her natural confidence in herself.”
• Rachel Nunez, 5-8 forward. “Rachel has the rawest abilities within the program. She might be the strongest lady to wear a Lady Cardinal uniform. We expect her to use these abilities to just go 1,000 percent on both ends of the court.”
“Our team’s biggest strength is the expectations set by our seniors,” White said. “We have a really special group of seniors that hold themselves and these newcomers to a very high standard. These seniors have been a major part of a winning tradition at Miller, and they have no intention of giving up on that tradition.”
The Lady Cardinals begin defense of their district championship at the Gem City Classic on Nov. 28-Dec. 3.
“Miller Lady Cardinal Basketball prides itself in competing for conference and district championships,” White said. “Even though this is my first season as the head coach, my expectations are to uphold tradition and compete for these championships.
“Our program will not focus on the end of the season. We must focus on practice every day and the current opponent. We know we are losing a lot of skill and experience and to uphold tradition, we have to make sure we get after it every day.”
