By Chris Parker
Stockton girls basketball returns four players from last season’s 11-win team.
Junior Raelyn Henderson returns as a starter. She led the team with 100 assists last season. She also scored 2.4 points per game.
“”She (Henderson) has been a two-year starter,” Stockton head coach Brett Burchett said. “She led our team in assists last season. She was also one of our best defenders. She has really improved her ability to score this offseason. She is our only upperclassmen so we will look to her for leadership.”
Sophomore guard HayLeigh Burres is the leading returning scorer. She put up 8.1 points per game while pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game as a freshman.
“She (Burres) is a talented athletic player,” Burchett said. “I feel like she will be a much more confident player this year. HayLeigh can shoot it well and she has the ability to get to the rim. She has also improved on the defensive end this offseason.”
Taly Bock saw action in 23 varsity games last season as a freshman.
“She (Bock) is a tough, hard-nosed player who does a good job on the defensive end,” Burchett said. “She has also improved her overall game this offseason. She will be one of our starters this season.”
Sophomore Lillie Burchett rounds out the returning letterwinners.
“Lillie is our other returning letter winner,” Coach Burchett said. “She is our tallest guard. She uses her length to create a lot of deflections. She has potential to be a solid shooter as well. She will be one of our top five.”
Sophomore Makinsie Griffis returns at forward after seeing action in 10 varsity games last season. Classmate Shia Roberts did not play last season but will see action in the post as a sophomore.
Taylor Graves, Zoe Rains and Rylee Forst are three freshmen in the mix for varsity action.
“We are going to be a pretty athletic team. We do not have a lot of size, so we are going to have to use our athleticism to play fast to create scoring opportunities in transition,” Coach Burchett said. “We only have one junior and no seniors, so development of our young players will be a big key. We have to be a better rebounding team. We will need to be able to score consistently.”
Stockton opens the season Nov. 25-27 at the Fair Play Tournament.
“With as young as we are, I want to see us improve throughout the season and play with confidence,” Coach Burchett said. “I want our team to compete and play extremely hard every time we step on the floor. I really like the group of girls we have. I believe it will be a lot of fun watching this group grow and develop.”
