By Chris Parker
Gainesville girls basketball will be reloading coming off a 15-10 season. The Lady Bulldogs graduated three all-conference players from that team.
Seniors Hallee Donley (shooting guard) and Debra Winrod (center) will be team leaders this year.
“Hallee Donley and Debra Winrod are both seniors and will be our team leaders,” Gainesville head coach Lance West said. “They both lead by example on and off the court. They give 110% effort in whatever they are doing and they both have great team attitudes. They understand what it takes to win and will do a great job this season leading our young group of girls.”
Donley averaged 8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last year. Winrod averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season.
“Hallee has been a starter for me the previous two years. She is a good shooter and rebounds well for her size. I look for Hallee to take on a bigger scoring role for us this season,” West said. “Debra plays with so much heart. You will not find very many girls that plays as hard as she does. She is long and lanky and will be expected to play the role of our “big man” this season. She is real solid on the defensive end and we will look for her to play a bigger role on offense for us her senior year.”
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Bretlyn Kastning (junior forward), Emory Warden (sophomore guard/forward), Jillian Morse (sophomore guard), Lakyn Suter (sophomore guard/forward), Sarah Hossman (sophomore guard/forward) and Laney Suter (freshman forward) will all be competing to fill out the varsity rotation.
West on Kastning: “Bretlyn hadn’t played in two years until this summer, but she will have a positive impact on our team this season. She will give us more size inside and is very capable knocking down an outside shot.”
West on Warden: “Emory is the type of player that will do anything you ask her to do. She is very coachable and has worked hard to improve her outside game. She, along with the rest of the sophomores will be playing lots of varsity minutes this season.”
West on Morse: “Jillian is a quick guard that will be asked to be one of our primary ball handlers this season. She has the ability to be a good point guard for us with some time and experience.”
West on Suter: “Lakyn had a good summer and adapted well to playing at the varsity level. She shot the ball well at times over the summer and was solid on the defensive end.”
West on Hossman: “Sarah also adapted well to playing at the varsity level over the summer. She is long and lanky and she used that lankiness to her strength on the defensive end. She has been working on her mid-range/outside shot and I look for her to help our team this year.”
West on Suter: “Laney will give us some depth off the bench this year. She will play both JV and Varsity for us this season.”
Youth will be a theme for this team with just two varsity players returning.
“Our team will be young. I am bringing back two varsity players from last year’s team. With some time playing together, we will find out what our roles will be as players and our team will be able to adjust and figure out how to play towards our strengths. Yes, we will make mistakes but the key is to learn from those mistakes and continue to learn and grow throughout the season,” West said.
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What this team may lack in experience is made up for in chemistry.
“This team has really good team chemistry and I would say that is our greatest strength going into the season,” West said. “With hard work, dedication, and time, we will be able to take that team chemistry and turn it into something special as long as we have a positive outlook on the season. Our girls will need to believe in themselves along with each other and keep grinding and working hard each day and we will see those positive results develop throughout the season.”
Gainesville will travel to Bakersfield on Nov. 18 for a jamboree with Norwood, Bradleyville and Bakersfield. The Lady Bulldogs open the regular season on Nov. 29 at home against Willow Springs.
