By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Expectations are high at Parkview this season.
While the Lady Vikings finished with a 13-12 record last year, head coach Keri Nichols has a couple big reasons to be optimistic as she enters her 12th season with the program.
For one, her team was extremely competitive in 2018.
“Of the 12 losses, four of them were five or less points and another two were seven points,” Nichols said. “We feel like the season was a big step towards having a successful season this year, as it helped identify what our weakness were that we need to work on.”
The other key factor in Parkview’s outlook is the fact it returns its top seven players, including Swiss army knife Paiton Acord (15.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.5 apg).
At 5-foot-10, the all-state junior can play any position on the floor and is a difficult matchup for opposing teams. At her current pace, Acord should move into Parkview’s top ten all-time scoring tier this season.
“Paiton is an easy one to focus on,” Nichols said, “But her success comes not only because of her hard work but because they can’t focus just on her because of the talent we have that surround her.”
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Acord will be joined in the starting lineup by a trio of seniors in C.J. Stiles (7.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Naveah Mitchell (5.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg) and Dee Diggs (5.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Stiles and Diggs — at 6-foot-1 and 5-foot-10, respectively — give the Lady Vikings much-needed size to challenge an Ozark Conference schedule loaded with six-footers.
5-foot-9 sophomore Kamari Quick (7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) rounds out the starting lineup.
Senior Kristen Klien and sophomore Mikaela Whalen also return to provide depth and experience to a talented roster.
With a wealth of veteran experience and leadership, Nichols doesn’t expect to see any impact newcomers this season.
“Because we return 7 players that have a lot of experience and a lot of versatility, it will be difficult for anyone to jump into this rotation,” Nichols said.
For Parkview to improve upon last season’s success, it will need to navigate a difficult schedule that includes the likes of Kickapoo, Carl Junction, Ozark, Rolla, Nixa and Walnut Grove.
Nichols believes her team is ready for the challenge.
“I have very high expectations for this group,” Nichols said. “The senior class has had a ton of varsity experience and we should really be able to use that to our advantage. I believe that if we come together as a group we could have a lot of success this year and be a challenge to anyone we play.”
After hosting a jamboree with Kickapoo, Clever and Blue Eye, Parkview opens the season at home, Nov. 20, against Nixa.
