2016-17 basketball preview: Osceola Girls

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By Shelley Ebbrecth

The 2016-2017 Osceola Lady Indians will have a whole new look from last season. With only one starter returning from last year’s squad, it’s going to be up to a new crop of talent to step up and win.

“I have high expectations,” said head coach Kim Wohlers. “Once we mesh as a team and learn our responsibilities, I feel like we will be competitive with pretty much everyone on our schedule. Although we are young, they are all competitors.”

Nora Wheatley, senior, will be leading the Lady Indians on the court this year and will be joined by seniors Morgan Jones and Geneva McGrath. Lacey Self is the team’s lone junior.

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“Lacey started a couple of games last year, but Nora is the only regular that we return,” Wohlers said. “Nora is a great leader because she has a great work ethic and works hard to achieve her goals, no matter what she is attempting to do. She is also very coachable.”

Wohlers herself is gearing up for her 20th year as a head coach, her 15th at Osceola. Her Lady Indians finished last season 15-12 and lost the majority of their lineup to graduation. Ally Burrow, Rachel Owens, Lilly Brockus and Haley Taylor were all four starters leaving big shoes for the rest of the team to fill. But Wohlers said she expects this year’s group of freshmen to be up to the task.

“We have a great group of freshmen coming in this year who will be asked to contribute early,” she said. “They have played a lot of basketball and should easily adjust to the high school level.”

Wohlers said the team spent the summer focusing on skills aside from putting the ball in the basket.

“We have worked on defensive fundamentals and offensive movement away from the ball during the off season,” she said.

The influx of fresh faces combined with the returning players off the bench will give Osceola the size of team it needs to carry out their game plan on the court.

“We will have decent numbers this year which will help us be able to run the floor and play the type of defense we would like to play,” said Wohlers.

The team opens their schedule on the road November 22 at Lincoln before playing in the WEMO tournament November 28 at Rich Hill. The Lady Indians will then play five consecutive away games to close out December. And their schedule won’t do them any favors from there out, either.

“Our January schedule is pretty tough, starting back with the Skyline tournament the first weekend,” Wohlers said.

Osceola’s home opener is set for January 3 against Windsor.

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