2016-17 basketball preview: Dadeville girls

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By Shelley Ebbrecht

The Dadeville Lady Bearcats finished last season 4-20 as a young team struggling with injuries and inexperience.  With another year experience under their belt and improved shooting ability, head coach Daniel Durst is hopeful the team can turn it around this season.

“Our strengths this year will be our speed and our shooting ability,” Durst said. “We have quite a few proficient scorers on the team this year and with a year of experience under most of the team, we will come out this year more ready to play than ever.”

Durst returns for his fourth year as head coach of the Lady Bearcats and welcomes back all but one graduated senior.  As a first year player, senior Lekisha Hernandez was inexperienced but was able to help out on the court in a big way due to injuries.

The team spent their summer working together to get stronger and faster.

“This offseason was all about building team chemistry and speed,” Durst said. “We worked on being a more effective team both on and off the floor.  We increased our speed and worked on becoming a team that communicates on the floor.”

Junior Ashton Neeley will be bringing the ball down for Dadeville and is also the team’s biggest three-point threat, shooting for over 40% from beyond the arc last year.

Joining Neeley will be a strong group of sophomores, including leading scorer from last season—Lexi Lakey.

“(Lakey) is capable of putting up a lot of points in a night,” Durst said. “She is also a very versatile player—big enough to post but fast enough and a good enough shooter to pull her game out to the perimeter.”

Macey and Abby Sappington are part of the returning sophomore class.  Macey was the second leading scorer for the Lady Bearcats when she tore her ACL, ending her season.  Durst said he is expecting big things from Abby who was one of the team’s best defenders last year and is figuring out how to get to the basket off the dribble.

Cecilia Miller rounds out the experienced sophomores.  Durst said she is one of the most physical players and is great at guarding the post.

“I believe our defense will be the key to our success,” Durst said. “These girls have a great attitude and work ethic, so I am excited to see what they are capable of this season.”

Marley Brannon is the only senior on the roster this year.  She was injured before the season began last year but brings the team a little size with long arms and is a great rebounder.

There are three incoming freshmen to watch on the Lady Bearcat squad: Lexi Goodman, Saedee Sherwood and Sam Melton.  Durst described Lexi as “an extremely athletic individual. She will add speed and defensive intensity to our team and is another shooter.”

He said Sherwood has a great shot already and a knack for getting open around the rim while Melton is a developing midrange threat and takes pride in her defense.

“I have very high expectations of these girls,” Durst said. “We are still a pretty young team but we are talented.  Nothing will be handed to us this year—every game we win, we will have to fight for and it is a great lesson for us to learn. This year will challenge us in many ways but we are ready to step up and overcome each and every challenge we face.”

The Lady Bearcats will kick off the season as the Seymour Jamboree on November 11 before opening their regular season at home against Lockwood on November 18.  They will close out the month of November with back-to-back tournaments—at Fair Play and at Everton.

“There are always tough games on our schedule and I am looking forward to playing everyone who beat us last year,” Durst said. “Last season we struggled with some injuries and inexperience related problems. I want the girls to come out this season and show what they are capable of.”

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