By Chris Parker
Spokane girls basketball has a new head coach in Kyle Singley this season. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Warsaw.
He inherits a program coming off a 15-15 season with just one returning player in sophomore Lily Carr.
Carr was a first-team all-conference selection as a freshman.
“Lily can beat you with her skills, athleticism, and her basketball IQ,” Singley said. “She is quick and can create scoring opportunities for herself or teammates. She has an incredible understanding of the game and knows what the correct play to make is.”
Carr will be the leader for a young team.
“Lily will be asked to do a lot for us this year. She will have the ball in her hands often and will have to deal with defenses that will lock in on her. I expect her to continue her growth as a player and make good decisions,” Singley said. “I am also expecting her to grow as a leader.”
Look for freshmen Chloe Purdy, Hannah Branum and Shiloh White along with junior Sierra Kirby and sophomore Payton Jones to make impacts on varsity this season.
Purdy has the potential to be a strong post defender according to Singley. Branum has put in a great off-season of work and shown improvement according to Singley
Ball security will be key for Spokane.
“We will need to improve our ability to take care of the basketball,” Singley said. “The ability to handle pressure is an area of weakness and if we want to have opportunities to score, we will need to improve. “
Spokane hosts Marionville, Pleasant Hope, Buffalo and Ava for a jamboree on Nov. 18. The Lady Owls open the regular season on Nov. 22 at home against Ash Grove.
“To consider this season a successful season, I want to see growth,” Singley said. “We are going to be very young and will have plenty of growing pains. I think the girls are working really hard and that we can surprise some people with our growth throughout the year.”
