Head Coach: Dusty Killingsworth
2015-16 Record: 13-11 – Lost to Lamar in the Class 3, District 12 tournament quarterfinals
Top Players: Cameron Call, Caitlin Hicks, Mikala Veith, Camryn Eldridge, Ashlyn McCanless, Haylee Yeats
Last season, the Mount Vernon Lady Mountaineers’ basketball team got terrific production from freshman Cameron Call. The point guard led her team with 17 points per game and five assists per game in 2015-16.
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She has a promising career ahead of her, including her upcoming sophomore campaign.
“Cameron has grown in several different areas,” said head coach Dusty Killingsworth. “Physically with speed, quickness and power. Mentally in how she thinks the game out and is always working on her basketball skills. Our expectations for her aren’t probably as high as her expectations for herself, which makes it really nice.”
Call is just one of several freshmen that contributed to the squad last year; Caitlin Hicks, Camryn Eldridge and Ashlyn McCanless are also entering their sophomore year with varsity experience.
The lone senior for Mount Vernon is 6’1” Mikala Veith, who led the team with 5.5 rebounds per contest last year.
“We take pride in that we have a lot of contributors in terms of leadership. Senior Mikala Veith will be one of those main voices,” said Killingsworth. “She has been outstanding in that role. We have several girls that show leadership in many different ways both on and off of the court.”
The Lady Mountaineers finished 13-10 last year after back-to-back sub-.500 seasons. They’ll count on their young players to continue building on the success from last year.
Haylee Yeats (5’4” junior), Lyndsey Hood (5’7” sophomore), Lauren Vaughn (5’8” sophomore), Maddy Mosley (5’7” sophomore) and Brooke Leeper (5’8” junior)all add to the group of young talent and hope to impact the team as newcomers to the varsity.
Last year ended with a 55-53 loss to Big 8 foe Lamar in the opening round of districts. Mount Vernon is optimistic entering the season, and coach Killingsworth will prepare his young team to string together wins late in the year when it counts most.
“The expectations are always high for us, as they are for most teams,” he said. “Our conference is always a struggle and our non-conference schedule is as tough as it’s ever been. We have set our goals for a great conference season and ending it with a run in districts.
“If we do the things we need to, day in and day out, we will be successful both on and off of the court. We need to be in the business of building kids not only for wins but to win in life and this group has the ability to be big winners in both. We are very excited.”
