2019-20 Winter Preview: Stockton Girls Basketball

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By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Last season marked one of continued progress for Stockton.

While the Lady Tigers finished with a 10-16 record, falling to Seneca in the district semifinal, the program improved on the previous season’s four-win total.

Entering his second season, Stockton head coach Jim Flora, hopes to continue the program’s upward trend.

“Last year’s team set the standard for turning the program in the right direction,” Flora said. “We were more competitive — game-in and game-out — and built our identity around defense. We finished our season playing our best basketball by upsetting the No. 3 seed in districts and losing in a very tight game in the district semifinals. We hope to continue that improvement this year.”

To achieve that goal, Flora will first need to find a pair of replacements within his roster.

“We lost two key seniors to graduation — Amy Garver and Sarah Hottess,” Flora said. “Both players brought toughness and perseverance to our team. Amy was a catalyst for our offense
and Sarah played tough defense inside.”

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With only two graduates, the Lady Tigers return a solid quartet in Cass Duncan, Katie Hedrick, Lyndsy Gire and Abby Flora.

Duncan, a 5-foot-3 senior, averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

“Cass is our best on-the-ball defender and will be a greater threat offensively this year,” Flora said.

At 5-foot-5, the senior Hedrick averaged 6.7 points per game for the Lady Tigers.

“Katie is our best outside shooter,” Flora said. “Her ability to stretch the floor is essential to our success on offense.”

Gire, a 5-foot-5 sophomore, returns as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder at 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

“Lyndsy had a great freshman year,” Flora said. “She is an athletic scorer who often gets the assignment of guarding the other team’s best player.”

Abby Flora, a 5-foot-5 sophomore, connected on 37 percent of her 3-point attempts last season.

“Abby is our second ball-handler on the team,” Coach Flora said. “She is a gritty player that shoots and passes well. We are looking for her to step up this season and improve her overall game.”

In addition to its returning core, Stockton welcomes a host of varsity newcomers, including junior Jenna Rickman and a quartet of freshmen in Summer Kenney, Kylie Hunter, Jayla Thorton and Laynie Gire.

While Stockton’s improved win total last season is a step in the right direction, Flora is quick to point out the challenges faced by a team with new faces in a new season.

“The challenge for this team will be in bringing our new players in and getting them ready for varsity basketball right away,” Flora said. “We developed a tough, defensive mentality last season. I am hopeful that this team will buy into that as well.”

Challenges aside, expectations are high for the Lady Tigers, and Flora believes his team could be poised to take another big step forward.

“Our biggest strengths will be our senior leadership and overall athleticism,” Flora said. “I believe the ceiling of our team will be much higher this year; however, we must put the work in and compete defensively day-in and day-out to accomplish that goal.”

Stockton opens its season Nov. 25 with the Fair Play Tournament.

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