LITTLE ROCK — The Melbourne Lady Bearkatz team of this year will look incredibly similar to last year's team, with four returning starters that led the team to a 21-10 record.
Leading the charge for Melbourne will be 6-0 senior Olivia Morris. An All-Arkansas selection last season, Morris will be counted on for her leadership and scoring ability.
"She's someone we can build our team around," head coach Bruce Adams said. "We're going to count on her a lot offensively and defensively."
Morris will be joined by two allregion players in 5-8 senior Abby Cooper and 5-8 senior Autumn Henry. Adams expects Henry to be one of the leading scorers on the team, while Cooper will grab several rebounds each game.
The one in charge of bringing the ball up the floor will be 5-5senior Codi Womack. The experience and ball-handling abilities of Womack will ensure that the Lady Bearkatz will be able to get into their halfcourt set on offense.
Adding to the already impressive senior class is a group of sophomores fresh off a 27-1 junior high campaign.
"We have more depth than we've ever had," Adams said. "The top six [from the junior high team] have moved up, and there's a group of sophomores that will have a chance to make an impact and contribute."
The Lady Bearkatz will rely on their outside shooting and experience throughout the season to outweigh their poor defensive and rebounding abilities.
The 2-1A Conference could be a toss-up this year, but Adams said he had to give the early nod to Calico Rock, but Melbourne and Norfork could fight it out for one of the top spots.
Three Rivers, Pages 133 on 10/28/2007