Conference: 4A-7
Coach: Joshua Harrison, sixth year
Assistant coach: Brandi Davis
Last year’s record: 14-6, tied for second in the conference
Returning starters: The only senior on the team is Alaina Crouse (5-9 forward), who averaged 11.5 points per game last year and led the team in rebounds with an average of 6.5 per game. Other returning starters are Mary Crow, a junior who is the team’s leading scorer with 17 points per game last year, 2.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals last season, and junior Makayla Blanchett (5-9 post player), who had 4 points and 4 rebounds per game off the bench last year with some experience as a starter.
Best outside players: Both Crouse and Crow worked on their outside games during the summer and have developed what coach Harrison called a “really consistent 3-point shot.”
Best inside players. Allison Tackett (5-11 forward) is a sophomore with long arms who Harrison said is a very athletic shooter and rebounder with a 3-point shot and is working to be a perimeter player. Junior Sarah McPherson (5-9 guard) is a player Harrison said can hit the 3-point shot.
How will you match up with last year’s team? “Last year’s team was a group of seniors with a lot of experience. Now we are young and having to learn,” Harrison said. The coach said that with the team having only one senior, the players will be looking to the juniors for leadership. “I’ll need to coach more without the floor leadership we had last year,” he said.
Strengths: Harrison said this year’s team is very athletic with the potential to be very deep as the players develop. “The perimeter scoring is very good, and we have been working on it this summer,” he said. “Some inexperience can be good for as they learn together.”
Weaknesses: Once again, Harrison mentioned the youth of his team. “Only three players have played significant minutes,” he said, “but by the time conference play begins, they could gel into a strong team.”
Games to watch: Coach Harrison said the most important game is the one that starts the season against Glen Rose. “We can’t look past the first game,” he said.
In the conference, he said, Pulaski Academy is a very good team, but he called the conference schedule “a long battle without a night off.”