By Chris Parker
A pair of seniors return to lead a Monett girls basketball team looking to climb over .500 for the first time since 2017-18. The Lady Cubs finished 7-20 overall last year.
That senior duo is Allyson Inman and Sadie Camp.
“They both play extremely hard and do whatever I ask of them on either end of the court,” said Monett head coach James Kleine. “Allyson has run the point guard position for two years. Her ability to get to the rim as increased dramatically since last season, and she has also improved her jump shot. Sadie is a very streaky shooter that can do a little bit of everything on both ends of the court. They both guard very hard and make it tough for their opponents. They always give their best effort no matter what the score is.”
Inman earned honorable mention all-conference honors last year. She averaged 11 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Camp scored 8 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
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Junior Aryanna Seelye is another returning upperclassman for Monett to lean on. She brings good size to the post standing at 6-foot-1.
“She (Seelye) can change a lot of shots on the defensive end of the floor with her height,” Kleine said. “She also can be very tough to stop when she gets the ball around the basket.”
Seelye averaged 5.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1 block per game last year.
The sophomore trio of Halle Schoen, Abby Inman and Vayla Smith also return.
Abby Inman scored 5.5 points with 5 rebounds per game last year. Schoen and Smtih each averaged 2.5 points per game.
Monett has a deep freshman class that will have many players pushing for playing time. That group includes Meredith Merriman, Kalli Hohensee, Kilee Wilson, Addalyn Brownlee, Ruby Smith and Hanna Parris.
The group will give Monett a deep roster to lean on this year.
“This year, our depth should be a strength of ours as long as we can stay healthy,” Kleine said. “I also think that the defensive end of the floor will be a strength. We have some strength and quickness that should benefit us greatly on the defensive end of the floor.”
Monett opens the regular season on Nov. 21 at home against Sarcoxie.
