Lady Bulldog hoopsters reload with younger lineup

The Lovell Lady Bulldogs are a bit down in numbers but have some solid talent returning as they look to build upon last year’s 10-14 season.

There are 16 players out for the team ahead of this weekend’s opening tournament in Casper: just one senior, five juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen. The team lost five players to graduation in all-conference guard Kenadee Rael, Raegan May, Breeah Jones, Libby Mickelson and Kennadee Owens. Junior Celeste Lindsay has switched to indoor track this season.

Returning with extensive varsity experience are senior Becca Nichols and junior Brooklin Clark, and also seeing varsity time last year were now juniors Kandace Asay, Hannity Felkins and Jenna Hessenthaler and sophomores Ali and Avery Walker. Seeing minutes at the junior varsity level and moving up to varsity are junior Kaydree Owens and sophomore Ava Edwards.

The seven freshmen, some of whom will see varsity time, are Macie Anderson, Gracie Angell, Kinzie Blain, Morgan Harshman, Myles May, Kelsey Mangus and Brynnlee Spanier.

Second-year head coach Brian May has emphasized fundamentals, especially shooting, via an off-season program for his team.

“In our off-season, just looking at our stats from this past year and previous years, it was how do we improve our shooting?” May said. “And so we set some goals as a team with utilizing that 5,000 shot club as kind of where we wanted to be as far as kids getting the ball in their hands, making more jump shots at game speed, in different positions and different inside/outside type of things.

“It’s shooting on the move, curling, attacking the basket, things like that. Finishing was something that, in our open gyms, we did some things with, getting the blocking bag out and things like that and coming down on kids’ arms and just trying to make them a little bit stronger -- the physicality of going through contact and being able to finish at the rim. And so even in our open gyms we did a lot more shooting plus finishing and then added some ballhandling and things in there as far as transition dribbles and attacking the basket from different angles in the open court.”

While numbers are down a bit from a year ago, May said the players on hand are dedicated to the sport.

“We’re really excited about our girls that want to be on the basketball floor,” he said. “They’re athletic, and they want to learn. We have strong kids that get up and down the court really well. The other thing that we talked about in the summer was how we can improve our post play as far as just being able to be more physical in the post. And so we’re seeing some kids implementing those things within our practices, within the context of our offenses and then our transition game, as well. So that’s been good to see.”

Returning as assistants are junior varsity coach Jen Hessenthaler and freshman coach Gretchen Walker.

“They’ve brought a lot of energy, ideas and expertise, and they’re able to run any drill and just bring great enthusiasm, and the girls are responding to them really well,” May said.

Asked about team strengths heading into the season, May noted, “We’re more athletic. I think that we can get up and down the court with some teams that were a little bit quicker than us last year and stay with them. We do want to increase the pace of our game, as well, both on the defensive and offensive ends. And I think our girls are athletic enough to do that.”

“I think the biggest challenge we face is experience at the varsity level. We’re bringing up some sophomores and juniors that didn’t get a lot of varsity experience last year, and that presents growing pains along the way, but I think our girls can get where we want to be, growing throughout the season and peaking at the right time.”

The lineup

May said the Lady Bulldogs will employ a read-and-react offense with up to five players working on the perimeter, so anyone can bring the ball up the court in a given situation.

“A read and react type of offense has different formations, five out, four out/one in, so in the reality of the offense, each position is interchangeable,” he said.

That being said, Hessenthaler would be considered the point guard, May said, with Ali Walker and Nichols moving to the “one” when needed.

“Jenna’s tough, and her ball handling is improving,” May said. “She does have a nice outside shot, and one of the things that she’s really improving on is getting into the paint and kicking it to shooters on the perimeter.

“Ali is a good ball handler. She’s a good decision maker. She’s lengthy, helps on the defensive end and is a good shooter. She’s working hard on being a better penetrator and finishing at the basket. But she’s also a good decision maker while penetrating, just like Jenna, as far as being able to know where options are.”

May said Ali and Avery Walker will play on the wing (two or three position), with Avery playing the “four,” as well. Asay will play the four or five, Felkins three, four or five and Clark anywhere from two to five. Owens will be in the mix at the two and three, Edwards at the three or four, May said.

Three freshmen will likely earn a spot on the varsity, as well, he said, noting the probability of Macie Anderson, Morgan Harshman and Brynnlee Spanier.

“I’m excited about our freshman group,” May said. “They’re competing really hard in practice. We’re not separating our practices. They’re playing with our varsity and JV, and they’ll end up playing a lot of JV, too. They’re competing hard, and Morgan and Brynnlee add some good post play. Macie Anderson is a good point guard, so we’ll kind of see how she progresses, too.”

May commented on other players, as follows:

• Avery Walker: “Avery is probably one of our better finishers because of her length, and she also brings some good shooting. She’s a good jumper and a good rebounder. She’s challenged herself to be a better defender, so she’ll be nice to put on maybe an opponent’s guard that might be a little smaller, but we might need somebody a little more lengthy on them.”

• Clark: “Brooklin is pretty versatile. She’s one of our most experienced varsity players, and she brings just a ton of energy. She’s physical. Her post-up and mid-range games are improving, and she’s a good defender. She gets up and down the floor really well.”

• Owens: “She’s smart. She understands the game, and she’s a pretty good shooter. When she’s open, she can knock down shots. She also has a little bit of knack to penetrate.”

• Felkins: “Hannity is a real smart player. She just kind of has a knack for making good basketball plays. She is kind of a little undersized post, but she can post up hard and can take it to the basket, too, from the perimeter when we’re in ‘five out.’ Physicality is one of her strengths, and she’s a great screener.”

• Asay: “Kandace is long and lengthy. She can get up and down the floor very well, especially on offensive breaks. She’s worked on her shot so she can hit mid-range and outside shots. Her post game is improving.”

• Edwards: “Ava is a smart player. She just has a consistent play about her. She doesn’t make many mistakes. Her outside shooting is improving. Her ability to take it to the basket is improving, too, and she’s versatile. She could play a couple of different positions.”

• Anderson: “Macie brings some good court vision. She’s quick and a good shooter. She’s really working on getting after people and playing good defense. So she’s going to be a good guard for us.”

• Spanier: “Brynnlee is just a calm presence. Nothing rattles her. She can play inside, she can play outside. She’s a good passer and a quality rebounder -- just a smart player who picks up things quick.”

• Harshman: “Morgan has a high desire to do well. She’s a hard worker, and she wants to do well. She’s really learning how to play in the post and has improved in that this summer, being a little more patient and passing out of things and not forcing when she doesn’t need to. Her outside shooting is improved, too. Both Brynnlee and Morgan aren’t afraid to be physical, which has been good.”

Casper tournament

The Lady Bulldogs will open the season at the Class 4A-heavy Casper Classic tournament this weekend, meeting host Casper Kelly Walsh Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center, Jackson Friday at 3 p.m. at the adjacent The Ranch facility and Riverton Saturday at 8 a.m. back at the Ford Wyoming Center.