2015 Preview: Can Hillsboro Lady Indians overcome youth as season progresses?

One thing is certain for the 2015-16 Hillsboro Lady Indians … they will be a very young team. The Lady Indians will have just one varsity letterman returning from last season and will be replacing four players in the starting lineup.

As head coach J.R. Moberly begins the restructure of his team, the one returning starter is senior Madison Snyder, who was an All-District selection last year and is coming off a season where she averaged 11.9 points per game, along with 8.1 rebounds per game.

“Madison is the captain, and she’s a great example to the other kids. She works hard every day, doesn’t complain about anything, and she’s been in our program, so she knows what to expect,” Moberly said. “She’s a quiet leader, but being vocal isn’t in her, and that’s OK, because she leads by example and the kids respect her. Having her in a situation like this as we rebuild, she’s the best kid to have.”

Though the Lady Indians have just one returning starter from last season’s team that went 15-7 (8-6 in the SCOL), a year they reached the sectional finals, Coach Moberly says though it is a rebuilding season, he was still happy with the preseason and summer effort by his players.

“We are down in numbers, but we had a real good turnout this summer. The kids that are here were also here throughout the summer and worked really hard,” Moberly said. “The preseason has gone really well, but we’ve struggled to get everybody to a practice because of various reasons and activities away from basketball.

“I guess you would call this a rebuilding season. We lost six seniors, and we have a lot of young kids to work with, so technically it is rebuilding. It was great for them as a whole last year for our young kids to practice against last year’s varsity team.

“We saw a lot of growth that way out of the younger kids, and the game experience those kids got towards the end of the season, I hope that will work out. It helped Madi Marsh a little bit because she got to run the point for us some, and this year taking over that role full-time, I’m sure it will help her slide into that role a little bit easier as we get started.”

The current Lady Indians team will consist of three seniors, no juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen. The seniors are Snyder, Hanna Breeden and Lilly McCleese.

The sophomores are Ashleigh Baucom, Kaley Burns, Taylor Chaney, Madison Marsh, Riley Moberly and Natalie Sullivan.

“We were fortunate last year we were able to play most of the freshmen (now sophomores) at the JV level, and they had a real nice season,” Moberly said. “We now add them with Madison Snyder, as she’s our lone holdover. She’s worked hard with those kids, because she knows how things are run here.

“It hasn’t been real bad because we had all those kids in our program last year, but we’ll certainly miss the kids that are gone. We have a real good and talented group of freshmen and sophomores.”

Freshmen this season are Kayla Bieler, Sydney Bobbitt, Kelsey Burns, Alyssa Captain, Mackenzie Cosby, Lana Grover and Kristin Jamieson.

HHS will have a little different look to their style of play, but it won’t be a 180-degree type of change, as the team will play to their strengths as they start this season.

“We are going to be similar, but there will be different focuses than last year. We are a little bigger than we were last year overall, so we are going to try and be more post-oriented,” Moberly said. “Last year, we tried to put the ball on the floor and get to the basketball, but this year we are hoping our post players will do more of our scoring and do a little better on the boards.

“A lot is the same, but the focus is different, and kids are stepping in and doing what they do well, instead of trying to fit everything back into the mold that we had. That’s been the most difficult thing for me, because Coach (Gary) Breeden is constantly reminding me this is a different group from last year.”

Even battling youth, the fact they lost an All-Ohio player from last year (Kaylynn Bell) and the fact they are still learning on the go, Moberly said one of the most important things he wants to see from his team this season is that they compete each and every night.

“I want the girls to go out and compete every game,” he said. “If they can go out, play hard and can limit their mistakes, I think we can be in a lot of games and have a shot to win our fair share. We’ll have to play well, play hard and do things right. We aren’t going all the way back to the beginning. We have a lot of talent, and they understand and are good athletes. Ten or 12 of our kids play a fall sport.

“I’m pleased with the effort the kids have put forth so far, and we have a good foundation to start, but we have a lot more work to put in and have a long way to go. The kids have a great attitude, and it should be fun. It should be exciting, but it will be frustrating at times too, but every season is at some point. We expect to compete every night, be in games and have a chance to win.”