By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
A familiar face will be leading the Lebanon Lady Yellowjackets this season as Brian Decker takes over for hall-of-famer Jacky Payne.
“It means the world (to me),” said Decker, who enters his first season as a head coach. “I played for Jacky when he was at Lebanon coaching the boys, and to be asked by him immediately after he was hired to be his top assistant was a total honor.
“The last five years were some of the best years I’ve had in coaching just being able to hear all the stories of games and various experiences, as well as getting to pick his brain about the game of basketball. It was like a father/son relationship that I know I will miss dearly on the day-to-day. I plan to carry on a lot of the stuff I have learned from him into my head coaching career.”
Lebanon finished 16-11 overall and 7-3 in the Ozark Conference last season and won its quarterfinal game (67-50) in the Class 6 District 2 tournament over Lafayette (Wildwood) before falling to Parkway South 54-47 in the semifinals.
Decker said the lack of depth at times throughout the year showed up in the postseason.
“I think if we would have been able to have more bodies in our program things would have turned out a little differently for us in the end,” Decker said. “We were grouped into a tough St. Louis district where the eventual winner (Eureka) went on to the final four. I think the lesson learned was to get more kids a taste of the action at the varsity level so that we can stay fresh and play the style of basketball we want to play.”
The Lady Yellowjackets return two seniors and three juniors to the lineup this season, led by Bodie Cox.
Bodie Cox, senior forward – Averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game; named to the Ozark Conference All-Defensive Team and the KJEL All-Star Team. “Bodie will be starting her second season on the varsity,” Decker said. “She brings an abundance of skills to the floor each night. She can slash, post and has added to her shot over the summer. We are looking for her to take another step this season and help lead our team in a number of categories.”
Brooklynn O’Cain, senior point guard – 1.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg. “Brooklynn brings a toughness to our team that is unmatched. She started a number of games last year for us, and will be counted on as a team leader and our point guard this season. She guards hard and can rebound really well for a guard.”
Faith Coffman, junior guard – 1.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.1 apg. “Faith will be asked to fill a bigger role this season as well. She started a number of games for us, as well filling the other guard position. Faith has added an element of speed and quickness to her game that will only propel her to new heights, particularly defensively.”
Morgan Durbin, junior guard – “Morgan is a spark plug for our team. She provides an offensive threat from the 3-point line but also plays tremendous defense. We are expecting a big year from her this season.”
Madison Myers, junior forward – “Madison provides us with a versatile big that can both post someone up and battle inside, but also step out and knock down the 3. She has worked really hard on her game during the offseason and put in work in the weight room as well. Our staff is excited to see what she can do in her first full season on the varsity.”
Newcomers whom Decker will be looking to contribute this season include Loran Mooney, Mackenzie Perryman, Kendall Bybee and Madilynn Hilton.
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Loran Mooney, senior guard – “Loran is a talented guard that brings a wealth of varsity experience to our team,” Decker said. “She is going to fit into our varsity group well as a proven ballhandler and shooter.”
Mackenzie Perryman, sophomore guard – “Kenzie also brings us some more varsity experience to our team. She is a talented shooter and an overall tough kid. She plays extremely hard and is a competitor on the floor. “
Kendall Bybee, junior guard – “Kendall is a fiery player that brings a defensive element that we love to see. She gives us depth at the guard position and has vastly improved her outside shot over the summer.”
Madilynn Hilton, junior forward – “Madilynn will provide us with added post depth this season. She will be asked to help guard other teams’ posts and protect around the basket.”
Decker said that speed and quickness will be strengths for Lebanon, but the lack of height and varsity experience will be a challenge this season. His squad will need to find a few more scorers to fill the void left by two of the top players in the state in Raegan McCowan and Heaven Shockley.
Raegan McCowan, guard, who averaged 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 3. 4 assists per game. McCowan became the all-time leading scorer in Lebanon Girls’ Basketball history with 2,182 points and is in the top 10 in numerous career and single-season records. She also earned first-team All-State honors, was named the Player of the Year for the Class 6 District 2, Ozark Conference and KJEL.
“Raegan is not a player that you can just replace,” Decker said. “She was different in so many ways, from her desire and work ethic to her kind and caring personality; she will be missed. She’s the greatest girls’ basketball player in Lebanon history, and she did it the right way each and every day she wore the black and gold.”
Heaven Shockley, forward – Averaged 13.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.5 blocks per game, 2 spg and 2 apg; named all-district, first-team all-conference and KJEL All-Star; scored more than 1,000 points for her career.
“Heaven is one of the nicest kids to coach and one of the toughest to coach against,” Decker said. “Her ability to play around the rim is hard to find in girls’ basketball. She can score in a multitude of ways, but the thing that stood out to us was her ability to defend at the rim without fouling. She set career and single-season block shot records in her one season as a Yellowjacket. Heaven, like Raegan, is such a great kid to be around and coach and she can definitely not be replaced easily either.”
The Lady Yellowjackets will participate in a jamboree with Laquey, Plato and Willard on Nov. 16 before opening the regular season on the road – first at Nevada on Nov. 21 and then in the Fair Grove Tournament on Nov. 27-Dec. 1.
“I like that we can plug in and play a number of different players in our lineup and likely not miss much of a beat,” Decker said. “We will be quick and pesky for other teams as well.
“My expectations for this season are to continue the path that has been laid before us. We have built a pretty solid tradition of winning games and playing at a high level. Without Raegan and Heaven, it will be tough at times offensively, but I think that our defense will help to keep us in a lot of games.”
