McAuley Catholic girls basketball will have a youthful look this season.
With two returning starters, one a senior and one a sophomore, the Warriors boast a total of six underclassmen in the varsity rotation.
“I am always counting down the days for basketball season as it has brought great joy to my life,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said, who is entering his ninth season as the head coach for MCHS. “I love being able to teach young women positive characteristic traits gained from this sport that they will also take with them long after basketball is finished.
“We have seven very hard-working girls this year. This is unquestionably the youngest team I’ve coached, but all of them have great work-ethic and positive attitudes. We will definitely have some growing pains at the beginning, but I look for them to continue to grow as the season moves along and gain confidence as they become familiar with the speed of varsity basketball.”
Headlining the list of returners is the lone upperclassman on the squad—senior guard Kloee Williamson, a first-team all-Ozark 7 and all-district and second-team all-area performer who averaged 13.3 points per game, 3.2 boards per game, two assists and just under four steals per game on the defensive end as the catalyst.
“She’s our only senior, our unquestioned leader, and will be at the center of everything we do,” Howard said of his top threat. “She is very scrappy on defense and forces several turnovers. She will also have to carry the load offensively as our main scoring option. … The team will lean on her for guidance as we are very young. She will have a lot on her shoulders this season, but we’ve prepared her for pressure situations her whole life.”
Also stepping back into the starting rotation is sophomore G Brooke Righter, who averaged 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and a steal per game last year as a freshman.
“She has great instincts and likes to penetrate to the basket,” Howard said. “I look for Brooke to build off a strong freshman year and continue growing into that point guard position.”
Returning with varsity experience are a pair of sophomore forwards—Vanessa Diaz and Kiera Mays.
“Vanessa is a good shooter and rebounder,” Howard said. “She will contribute many more minutes this year. I look for her to continue to grow as one of the young leaders on the team this season.
“(Kiera) is still very raw, but works hard every day. She continues to do necessary things to get better, and I look for her to contribute more her sophomore year.”
New to the varsity unit this year for McAuley this year is a pair of freshmen in G Isabella Gilligan and F Samantha Conrad. Forward Joselyne Perez-Villa will also see time on the varsity floor.
“Isabella will step right into a starting spot and help us out both offensively and defensively,” Howard said of Gilligan. “She has a good IQ for the game and is already physically strong enough for varsity basketball. She’s a good shooter, but also has great instincts on how to get to the basket and score. She will hopefully take some of the scoring load off Kloee.”
“Samantha is physically very strong for a freshman,” Howard added of his first-year forward. “She squats 270, so she’ll be able to move some people around in the post. Defense and rebounding are her strong points as a high-energy player. She can score around the basket and will look to get several putback opportunities this season. She will step right in and help us from Day 1.”
While this will be a year filled with bumps and bruises with so much inexperience, Coach Howard can see the love of the game in his girls by their proven commitment to get better each. He wants to see them grow as players and teammates on and off the court this season as they lay a foundation to build around each other.
“Obviously, our lack of varsity experience will test us early in the season,” he said. “On top of that, only having seven players on the roster will make it difficult to sustain energy levels towards the end of games. We will have a lot of conditioning because several players will not get breaks. As the season progresses, and as our conditioning improves, It will become easier to reach the goals we’ve set.”
“We have to stay hungry, stay motivated and encourage teammates, especially when things aren’t going our way,” Howard added. “We must set small goals and reach them. Stay committed and put the team first always. Learn from our mistakes and implement ways to overcome them and reinforce positive character, which is at the forefront of anything successful. We have an understanding that things will get tough, but if we stay together as a team, we can overcome anything.”
McAuley opens the season at Liberal on Tuesday.
