Lady Cougars’ Coach Looks for Consistency

Consistency has long been a vital part of athletics, be it in high school, college or the pros.

Piedmont Academy varsity girls basketball coach Michael Wilson is hoping some much-needed consistency will be a plus for the Lady Cougars, who begin the 2015-2016 season today, Dec. 3 at home against Gatewood at 6 p.m.

“The seniors have told me that I’m the first coach they’ve had for more than one year since they were in sixth grade and I think the lack of consistency for them has made it difficult on them over the years,” Wilson said earlier this week. “This year, we are building off of what was started last year and the girls have really responded to what we’ve been doing.”

The Lady Cougar coach is quick to point out his team will have some work to do, especially early in the new campaign.

“We will struggle at times in the half-court offense as we develop our identity and our players develop confidence in their offensive game and continue to develop trust with one another,” Wilson said. “If we are to win games early in the year, we must play excellent full and half-court defense and out rebound our opponents. If we can do that, we can create some easy baskets, which I believe is vital for us until our half-court offense catches up.

The Lady Cougars return three starters from last season including Amelia Dodson, Matti Smith and Haley Tyler.

“I am looking for them to be excellent leaders for the 10 freshmen we have on the roster,” Wilson said. “So far, they have done an excellent job of showing them how to practice hard and work together and as the season goes I think that will make us more of a team than in years past.”

In addition to the three seniors, the starting lineup will also feature junior, Madison Burnham and freshman Madison McCart.

“We will progress this year as far as our seniors take us with their leadership,” Wilson said. “They are setting the tone for not only this year but the future for us. With such a young team the seniors have the opportunity to not only win this year, but leave a legacy for future teams. For this to happen, it’s important they focus on our team and not worry about what others are doing. If we stay focused and play hard we can have a good season. If we get caught up in worrying about everything around us but us, we will fall back into the same bad habits that have hindered them in the past.”

Offensively, the Lady Cougars will be led by Dodson, who paced the team in scoring and rebounding last season. Her coach describes her as an “athletic post player who causes a lot of match-up problems for other teams.”

Burnham has the ability and skill to be an important part of the team’s offense and the best shooter for the Lady Cougars. Wilson said Burnham has “a high basketball IQ.”

Smith and Tyler will be team’s best defenders in the man-to-man scheme but both must stay out of foul trouble and be able to create turnovers and generate easy baskets.

McCart is an “excellent shot blocker,” Wilson said, and whose rebounding skills are improving.

“She is going to provide Haley some much needed relief handling the basketball on offense and she is an excellent passer whose offensive game is starting to round into shape,” her coach said.

Coming off the bench will be juniors Makennah Holifield and Ashley Johnston, as well as sophomore Alexis Dodson. Freshmen varsity players include Lucy Tuggle, Madison Sanders, Hailey Hooper, Rylee Owens, Rainey Loftin, Gracie Hunt, Mattie Johnston, Deacon Robinson and Kirkley Holifield.

“Our reserves are vital to our success, especially the first couple of players who will be coming off the bench,” Wilson said. “Eventually, I believe we can have a rotation of at least 10 players if we continue to work hard in practice and make the improvement we’ve been making. We’ve put a great deal of emphasis since last season on improving our shooting and ball handling and their hard work is showing off but we still have a lot of work that needs to be done. While the shooting is in the process of improving we are going to rely on our defense and rebounding to help us make plays early in the season.”

Following the opener against Gatewood, Piedmont will host Nathanael Greene Friday and Covenant Academy Tuesday. All games begin at 6 p.m.

Middle School girls contests will also be played Thursday and Friday beginning at 3:30 p.m.