CARTHAGE, Mo. — After graduating four seniors who all had starting roles, the Carthage girls basketball team is looking for the next set of players to step up and replace the lost production.
The Tigers are coming off a 15-11 record from a year ago and graduated seniors Hailey Fullerton, Brianna Ream, Lauren Wilson and Katie Crowe, all of whom were in the starting lineup a year ago. The good news is Carthage has plenty of varsity experience returning in order to pick up where they left off last season.
“I’m very excited about this year’s team,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “With the graduation of four senior starters, including four-year varsity star Hailey Fullerton, we will have a much different look when teams see us get off the bus. However, we are not rebuilding, we are reloading. We will still play Lady Tigers basketball which is personified in our aggressive, full court defense and attacking downhill offense.”
Leading the list of returners for Carthage is junior starting point guard Kianna Yates—a second-team all-conference, first-team all-COC defense and first-team all-district player last year—who averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 42 steals per game last season.
“She is an all-around amazing player,” Moore said. “She stuffs the stat sheets with points, rebounds, assists, steals and deflections, while directing our multifaceted offense. Her drive and determination will be the catalyst of our success this season.”
Stepping into a larger role this season will be senior F Sophie Shannon, senior G Presley Probert, junior G Raven Probert, junior G/F Landry Cochran and junior G Daniela Marquez.
“Sophie started most of the season in the post for us last year,” Moore said. “She is a willing defender, shot blocker and rebounder. … Presley is our most-experienced wing player returning but she hasn’t started a varsity game before. She’s got a moxie to her game, so I have no doubt she will handle the added duties on both ends of the floor.
“Raven will likely be called upon to be our defensive stopper this season. Her quick feet and quick hands will allow her to hassle the other team’s point guards all game long. … Landry will be forced to play inside and outside for us this year. As our second post option, she will have to get into the paint and mix it up with the big girls a little more than in the past, but she is a tough kid and won’t back down to that challenge.”
New to the varsity roster this year will be freshmen Maggie Boyd (G/F) and Lauren Choate (G) and sophomore Trisha Kanas (G).
“Maggie will likely play the 1 thorough 4 positions on varsity this season,” Moore said. “She’s an intelligent player who can handle the ball and shoot the 3, but is willing to mix it up in the paint with the bigger players. … Lauren has a sniper’s mentality and will hunt the right space to get off her shot. Once she fully acclimates to the varsity speed on offense and defense, she will be a major threat for our team. … Trisha is a very athletic player who excels in the transition game. She will come off the bench for us and provide an immediate energy on both ends of the floor.”
While there is plenty of experience coming back, the biggest strength to this Tigers team might be their athleticism, which bodes well for the type of system Coach Moore runs on both ends of the floor.
“We won’t be as tall as previous years, but we will use our speed and athleticism to create the same scoring punch as last year,” Moore said. “Several fans have told me how much they enjoy watching our girls play and I expect us to be just as entertaining this year.”
Carthage opens the season on the road with a matchup at Kickapoo on Friday.
