By Chris Parker
School of the Ozarks girls basketball improved from four wins two seasons ago to 17 wins last year. The Patriots will look to keep that momentum going this season with four seniors returning.
That senior quartet includes Faith Martin, Kinley Sharp, Holland Houston and Lily Todd.
“All of these Seniors were part of our district championship runner up team,” School of the Ozarks coach Jerry Martin said. “They will give us much needed experience.”
Faith Martin scored 3 points per game with 3 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.5 assists.
“Faith brings stability and calm at the (guard) position,” Coach Martin said. “She doesn’t panic and is a solid 15-18 ft shooter.”
Sharp added in 4 points, 4 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game.
“Kinley adds solid defense and aggressiveness,” Coach Martin said. “She isn’t afraid to get on the floor and be scrappy. Kinley likes to attack the rim.”
Houston was the leading rebounder in the group at 6.6 per game with 7 points per game.
“Holland is our best forward defender and rebounder,” Coach Martin said. “She is a team leader in steals.”
Todd led the seniors in scoring at 8 points per game with 5.6 rebounds.
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“Lily was our second-leading scorer last year and looks to improve on that as a senior,” Coach Martin said. “We’ll need her impact offensively.”
Junior Rae Blackwell also returns after playing a good number of minutes as a backup point guard last season.
Senior Mylee Hampsch will be a newcomer along with sophomore Cora Presson.
“I think experience will be our biggest strength,” Coach Martin said. “These seniors have played varsity for three years now. Obviously, skill and basketball IQ have to be high, but they shouldn’t be surprised by anything they face.”
School of the Ozarks opens its regular season on Nov. 27 at home against Humansville.
“I want us to be noticeably hard workers and competitive but also noticeably good natured and sportsmanlike, because we keep things in perspective. We certainly want them to strive to win while not being caught up with it,” Coach Martin said. “I want to see human growth and development in them. Teamwork, adversity management, physical challenges overcome, a never give up attitude, and specifically for basketball: improvement. Even if it’s only marginal at times. Not only in skill but in basketball understanding. You can’t win until you improve, you can’t keep winning if you’re not getting better either, because others are improving. So, we have to get better game to game.”
