By Chris Parker
Seymour girls basketball finished 15-10 last season. The Lady Tigers bring back a trio of players in Katie Smith (senior guard), Jadyn Johnson (senior forward) and Addison Ridenour (junior forward) from that team.
Head coach Derrick Jessen on Smith: “Katie is a four-year player, and she will be put into a leadership role this year. She’s our point guard, and she’s our best on-ball defender. I am expecting a jump in her offensive production because she has been asked to defer to other talented players around her the last couple of years. She is a kid that I trust on the floor to make sure we have people in the right spots.”
Jessen on Johnson: “She is another four-year player for our program. She has battled injuries for the last year, but she is healthy coming into her senior year. She is agile, quick, and has speed that can’t be coached. She will be a threat in the passing lanes. Jadyn has the ability to get to the rim when she is asked to, and she will need to become more of a focal point of our offense this season.”
Jessen on Ridenour: “Addison was our second-leading scorer last year. She will need to step into the leading role this year. She plays more like a guard and, with her height, she will be a mismatch for a lot of our opponents. Addison has the ability to be one of the best players in our conference. This upcoming season will be a big one for her.”
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Jessen identified the following players as newcomers to the varsity lineup who could have an impact: Kaylynne Bull (junior forward), Haydon Gage (junior guard), Paisha Sturdefant (sophomore guard), Makaila Crawford (sophomore guard), Taylor Cantrell (sophomore forward), Maggie Akers (freshman guard), Chloe Johnson (freshman guard) and Laikan Newman (freshman forward).
Seymour graduated key offensive production from last season, so defense will be key for the Lady Tigers.
“Our players know our core expectations and defense will be at the forefront of it. We have a few really good defenders on our team. The hope is that their leadership will show our younger players that we demand playing hard on the defensive side of the floor,” Jessen said. “We graduated a lot of our offense last year. We retain our second leading scorer in Addison, but our team will need others to step up to replace that production we lost. Jadyn has shown she can score when we need her to. Katie has been asked to be a facilitator in our offense the last few years, but she’s going to be asked to shoot more as well. I’m hoping that one, or two, of our underclassmen will step up as an offensive threat once we get some games under our belt.”
Seymour opens the season on Nov. 20 at home against Bradleyville.
“This season will be considered a success if we find ways to compete in every game we play,” Jessen said. “It may not always translate in wins, but I want our kids to compete. There isn’t a team on our schedule that I don’t think we can find ways to win against. It will just take our ladies buying into the notion that even if we lose along the way we have to take those losses and learn from them.”
