Always Room for Improvement

Having just played in the school’s first Final Four ever, you might think the Eagles girls basketball team would take some time to enjoy their record-setting season.

Eagles girls head coach Tony Phillips would tell you they had the weekend after the season ended. Then they had spring sports. Now, during the summer, is the time to get better.

And that is exactly what the Eagles are doing this summer.

Besides playing multiple teams in different summer leagues, the Eagles varsity and junior varsity teams traveled to Branson yesterday to participate in the Licking Basketball camp where they will play 10-12 games.

“It’s really good to get away and focus on some basketball – and have some fun at the same time,” Phillips said.

The Eagles were scheduled for “fun” time on Tuesday afternoon at Silver Dollar City and on Wednesday playing laser tag. Phillips said the travel and a camp away from home was good for the players.

“We will be traveling more than three hours from home this next season to play a game and it’s good to know how these girls react to being on the road for that period of time,” Phillips said.

This week’s camp will include games with 16-minute halves with a running clock. The games are designed to be quick-paced and allows for plenty of players to move in and out of the lineup.

The Eagles are playing this summer without a trio of players who were key to the Eagles run to the Final Four last season.

Senior Faryn Griffin is still nursing a knee injury she suffered at the end of soccer season; Izzy Smith has also been off the court and Riley Scheer recently had a surgical procedure. Phillips said those injuries have given other players opportunity.

“We would really prefer to have Faryn, Izzy and Riley playing with us, of course,” Phillips said, “but by them not being with us, it has given players like Kate Ponder, Ginny Lewis and some others the opportunity to play with our other varsity players, and that could be good for us down the road – plus it helps all of those players get better.”

by Bruce Wallace

~Read the rest of this story in today’s Journal~