The Maiden basketball team will is playing in the Frenship tournament this weekend.
Maidens defeated Lubbock Trinity Christian, 77-27, on Nov. 19, taking their record to 4-0
“We feel like we have a good, solid team from top to bottom, regardless of who is out on the court,” Coach Tri Danley said. “Speed and quickness are things that we will rely on.”
Danley said the eight players on the team can get the job done at any given time.
“Everyone can shoot from the perimeter and handle the ball fairly well,” Danley said. “This group has put in a lot of time to get ready for this season. It will be up to us as a coaching staff to get the most out of them we can.”
The graduation of three key players–Londyn Shain, Tatum Medlin and Channing Howard–left substantial shoes to fill.
“It has been pretty hard, but I think we have a lot of stepping up to do,” junior post Glenda Klassen said. “We have to step up and lead the rest of the team.”
Danley said there will always be a new wave of replacement players coming up.
“Anytime you graduate the seniors that we did, you rely on them leaving behind good character traits for our younger players to continue to build on,” Danley said. “Our basketball culture is tremendous, and it’s a direct result of the seniors and players that come through the program.”
A recent UIL change divided basketball districts into Divisions I and II like football is already divided. This division could have the Maidens meeting tougher teams earlier in the playoffs.
“The level of competitions is not going to change much for us no matter what division we are in,” Danley said. “There are good quality teams in this area of the state–we have to be ready to be playing our best basketball in February and March.”
The chemistry of the team changed with the leadership from last season gone.
“There is definitely not just one player telling everyone what to do,” junior guard Jordan Danley said. “If we miscommunicate, we politely tell each other so we don’t get angry with each other and lose energy. I’ve played with them most of these girls my whole life in Seminole, so we have a lot of chemistry. We play well together.”
