Team Preview: Can Lady Indians reach the .500 or better mark overall in '15?
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Lady Indians have taken the next step each season they've been coached by current head coach JR Moberly.
When Moberly took over the program for the Lady Indians, they had one win in the season before his arrival. Since then, the Lady Indians have improved the program by winning 11 games last season, finishing with an overall record of 11-12.
That was an improvement of nine wins from the previous year, and before that, the Lady Indians had consecutive seasons of four wins apiece.
This is the season the Lady Indians have been waiting for, as three members of their senior class have been playing at the varsity level since they were freshmen. Those players are Trista Rhodes, Hannah Kibler and Kaylynn Bell.
Besides those three seniors, other seniors for HHS are Alyssa Sullivan, Kirsten Juillerat and Tyeika Cumberland. Juniors are Reaghan Haines and Madison Snyder.
"We have six seniors and two juniors on our varsity team, so it is nice to have that," HHS head coach JR Moberly said.
For Bell, last season she was Division II Associated Press All-District third-team, where she finished with 12.3 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds per game.
Also on the all-district team as a special mention was Madison Snyder. During her sophomore season, Snyder averaged 11.7 ppg and had 7.6 rebounds per game.
The Lady Indians are what can be described as a "veteran team," and now this is their chance to put together the elusive winning season. Last year was a big step to that goal.
"We want to win more than what we've done in the past," Moberly said. "We have the goal to compete on a nightly basis, and we have a chance to do that this year, and we are excited about that.
"The kids have done a good job, and hopefully we're improved on our scoring and defense this year. We have to get better at the little things, and we'll see how it plays out. Our kids play hard, and they will try to do what they know is the right thing. It comes down to drilling, focus and working together. We have to do that every day."
[[In-content Ad]]HHS ended last season with a 4-8 record in the South Central Ohio League, falling in the sectional round of the postseason against the Unioto Lady Shermans, 52-41.
Since then, Moberly said his team had a good turnout over the summer.
"We played a good number of games in a short period of time, then almost all of our kids are involved in volleyball, soccer, cross-country, so I didn't really see them again until October," he said. "Even then, with the success of the soccer program, we didn't see some of them until later on, so it has taken some time to get back into the swing of things."
Last season, HHS didn't have any seniors, giving them added experience from a year ago, so even with the late start, the Lady Indians know what is expected of them.
"Fortunately, we have everyone back, so now it is just remembering things and not learning from the beginning," Moberly said. "Having the team back helps a lot again, because we are reviewing.
"All of them have been in the program for several years, and we continue to do the same things. We haven't had to spend a lot of time on learning things, but we've refined some things along the way. On the down side, the challenge is trying to find ways to make it new and exciting in practices. We try to find a new challenge for the girls each day."
This season, for that experience to show on the court, HHS must “play better defense,” Moberly said.
"We have to play better defense," Moberly said. "We play hard on defense, but we're not always where we need to be. We can't miss our spots on any possession, because we have to count on all five players at all times to be in the right place.
"We're not there yet, but to be a good team, you have to have everyone in the right position. For us to compete for things we want to compete for, we have to be a better team defensively."
When Moberly took over the program for the Lady Indians, they had one win in the season before his arrival. Since then, the Lady Indians have improved the program by winning 11 games last season, finishing with an overall record of 11-12.
That was an improvement of nine wins from the previous year, and before that, the Lady Indians had consecutive seasons of four wins apiece.
This is the season the Lady Indians have been waiting for, as three members of their senior class have been playing at the varsity level since they were freshmen. Those players are Trista Rhodes, Hannah Kibler and Kaylynn Bell.
Besides those three seniors, other seniors for HHS are Alyssa Sullivan, Kirsten Juillerat and Tyeika Cumberland. Juniors are Reaghan Haines and Madison Snyder.
"We have six seniors and two juniors on our varsity team, so it is nice to have that," HHS head coach JR Moberly said.
For Bell, last season she was Division II Associated Press All-District third-team, where she finished with 12.3 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds per game.
Also on the all-district team as a special mention was Madison Snyder. During her sophomore season, Snyder averaged 11.7 ppg and had 7.6 rebounds per game.
The Lady Indians are what can be described as a "veteran team," and now this is their chance to put together the elusive winning season. Last year was a big step to that goal.
"We want to win more than what we've done in the past," Moberly said. "We have the goal to compete on a nightly basis, and we have a chance to do that this year, and we are excited about that.
"The kids have done a good job, and hopefully we're improved on our scoring and defense this year. We have to get better at the little things, and we'll see how it plays out. Our kids play hard, and they will try to do what they know is the right thing. It comes down to drilling, focus and working together. We have to do that every day."
[[In-content Ad]]HHS ended last season with a 4-8 record in the South Central Ohio League, falling in the sectional round of the postseason against the Unioto Lady Shermans, 52-41.
Since then, Moberly said his team had a good turnout over the summer.
"We played a good number of games in a short period of time, then almost all of our kids are involved in volleyball, soccer, cross-country, so I didn't really see them again until October," he said. "Even then, with the success of the soccer program, we didn't see some of them until later on, so it has taken some time to get back into the swing of things."
Last season, HHS didn't have any seniors, giving them added experience from a year ago, so even with the late start, the Lady Indians know what is expected of them.
"Fortunately, we have everyone back, so now it is just remembering things and not learning from the beginning," Moberly said. "Having the team back helps a lot again, because we are reviewing.
"All of them have been in the program for several years, and we continue to do the same things. We haven't had to spend a lot of time on learning things, but we've refined some things along the way. On the down side, the challenge is trying to find ways to make it new and exciting in practices. We try to find a new challenge for the girls each day."
This season, for that experience to show on the court, HHS must “play better defense,” Moberly said.
"We have to play better defense," Moberly said. "We play hard on defense, but we're not always where we need to be. We can't miss our spots on any possession, because we have to count on all five players at all times to be in the right place.
"We're not there yet, but to be a good team, you have to have everyone in the right position. For us to compete for things we want to compete for, we have to be a better team defensively."