With a new district and new problems, Maiden basketball Coach Dickie Faught still expects the best from the Maidens.
“It is a young team this year,” Faught said. “We still do have experience with a lot of returning players from last year’s team.”
The Maidens who were bi-district champs last season ran into a dominant Cooper team in the area round. Now Cooper and always basketball savvy Levelland loom on the district schedule.
The Maidens return six players including district newcomer of the year sophomore post McKaylee Weishuhn and all-district second team junior post Hope Hicks and senior guard Kaleen Sarli.
“We did graduate some good seniors,” junior guard Morgan Jones said. “We are still a really talented team regardless, so it shouldn’t affect us as much as people think.”
With several players still in volleyball, the team looks for leadership.
“I think that Morgan Jones and Brooke McCormick are really becoming leaders,” Weishuhn said. “That’s all we really need on the team because I believe we are good enough to play in this district already.”
With Shallowater and Estacado not to mention Andrews in the district mix, no game will be easy.
“It is going to be very tough to fight for a play-off spot this year,” Faught said. “It’s going to be a fight, but it is early, and we are ready to fight.”
Senior post Bailey Waller believes anything is possible.
“It will be tough this year and we all know this,” Waller said. “If we keep pushing ourselves who knows what we can do?”
The Maidens have been to the playoffs for eight consecutive years under Faught, and he doesn’t expect anything different.
“As young as we are, I still don’t know how good we can be,” Faught said. “Regardless of the district, we still have the ability to make the playoffs this year.”
The Maidens will scrimmage Brownfield in Seminole at 10 a.m. on Nov. 3.
