By Chris Parker
Seymour girls basketball finished above .500 for the first time since 2013-14 last year by posting a record of 17-10. That was a seven-win improvement over the previous year.
Now, entering head coach Derrick Jessen’s third season at the helm, the Lady Tigers are looking for even more with three seniors and two all-conference players returning.
Senior Lillie Rasmussen earned first-team all-conference honors last year. She led Seymour with 18.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is signed to play soccer at Missouri State.
“She is a four-year starter, and she has developed into a great basketball player,” Jessen said. “She knows how to score at will. Lillie has committed to Missouri State to play soccer, so that gives you an idea of just how athletic she is.”
Fellow seniors Kenzie Gage and Adria Sturdefant also return.
Gage averaged 3.6 points per game last season.
“Kenzie has a good outside shot. She is a vocal leader for us, and she does a good job of holding everybody accountable,” Jessen said. “The girls respect her and what she brings to our team.”
Sturdefant averaged a point and rebound per game as a junior.
“She (Sturdefant) has developed a good mid-range shot for us,” Jessen said. “Adria has the unfortunate task of playing inside-out for us, and she does a good job at it. She works her hard at practice and she provides our team with experience.”
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Sophomore Addison Ridenour gives Seymour a second returning all-conference selection. She averaged 11.4 points and 7 rebounds per game last year on her way to first-team all-conference honors.
“Addison had a lot of pressure on her last year coming in as a freshman,” Jessen said. “She turned that pressure into being an all-district, all-conference player for us last year. Addison has the skillset to keep getting better for us each year, and she will look to realistically try to average a double-double in points and rebounds.
Katelynn Smith (junior), Jadyn Johnson (junior), Hanna Stoneking (sophomore) and Elisa Valbuena (junior) all also return this year.
Jessen on Smith: “She is our returning point guard. She is also our best on-ball defender. She communicates well and has great instincts when guarding on defense. There are a lot of games where she is asked to guard another team’s best player.”
Jessen Johnson: “Jadyn was our sixth man last year because of her speed and work ethic. She has gotten better over the summer for us. She is battling some injuries at the moment from softball, but she is about as tough as they come.”
Jessen on Stoneking: “Hanna has a pretty solid case at being the most improved since last season. She has been working hard all off-season and she is going to contribute to our varsity this year. She didn’t get many varsity minutes last year, but as long as her work ethic doesn’t slow down, she will see her playing time go up a lot this season.”
Jessen on Valbuena: “She provided a spark for us anytime she was put in a game last year. She never lets her size define how she plays, and we are going to need her tenacity on the boards again this year.”
Sophomore Haydon Gage and freshman Paisha Sturdefant will be newcomers to the varsity lineup.
Jessen on Haydon Gage: “She has been working hard in the off-season as well. She played a little with our varsity towards the end of the summer and has improved.”
Jessen on Paisha Sturdefant: “Paisha has a pretty good basketball IQ and always finds herself in position to make a play. Whether she is facilitating or trying to score she has a good guard mindset.”
Defense was a hallmark for Seymour last year giving up just 45.4 points per game. That total was the lowest since the 2012-13 team yielded 40 ppg on the way to the program’s last district title.
“Our defense will be a problem for most teams,” Jessen said. “This was a point of emphasis the last two years since I have been here and these girls have completely bought into it. Their effort and work on this are the reason as to why we force quite a few turnovers per game. Our guard play will be pretty good this year as well. We’re experienced and have gotten faster at that position.”
While Seymour does return to all-conference players that both scored in double figures, Jessen is looking for more scoring options to step up.
“We need to have more balanced scoring this year to take pressure off of our first two options on offense,” Jessen said. “Our defense has kept us in games when teams have keyed on our best scorers, but I would like to see some of our other ladies make shots when we need them to.”
Seymour opens the season on Nov. 21 at Forsyth.
“I want opponents to see our team and say our ladies play unbelievably hard. I want our defense to set the tone of games early,” Jessen said. “We have a tight knit group, and every player wants her teammates to succeed. It’s looking like we are moving up to be a small Class 3 school, but that doesn’t change what our goals are for this year. We would still like to be in a position to win a district championship.”
