Parkview fielded a young team with just two seniors in 2017-18 that won seven games, but the Lady Vikings finished strong with a district win before falling to Kickapoo in the district semifinals.
“As the season progressed we saw our decision making ability improve and with that our production on both the offensive and defensive sides improved,” Parkview head coach Keri Nichols said.
Junior Paiton Acord is where everything will start with the Lady Vikings after averaging a team-high 16.5 points, seven rebounds, three assists and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore.
“Paiton’s ability to do multiple things offensively makes her tough to guard,” Nichols said. “She has the ability to post anyone up or take it off the dribble and get to the foul line. It is not very often that your point guard is also your leading rebounder. I expect her to be a bigger threat from the three-point line this year.”
Classmate CJ Stiles gives Parkview a strong No. 2 option after averaging 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore. Those marks were third and second on the team. She also led the team with 2.1 blocks per game.
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“This is the first year that CJ will start the year healthy. I expect her to be a bigger presence in the paint on the offensive end this year. She has really worked at going strong to the basket,” Nichols said.
Senior Taylor Levings along with juniors Neveah Mitchell, Dee Diggs and Kristen Klein and sophomore Shaylee Tarr all saw time in at least 16 varsity games last season. Mitchell posted 3.4 rebounds and four rebounds per game last season to lead that group statistically.
Nichols is hoping the varsity experience her team has gained will pay off in wins this season.
“For the past two years we have played quite a few young players, now I expect all those growing pains we have gone through the last couple of years to pay off,” Nichols said.
Parkview opens the season on Dec. 4 at Nixa.
