ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
After graduating five of their six starters from last year, the Lady Spartans will return to the hardwood with a number of first-time varsity players. The lack of experience could lead to a slow start for Emery, but head coach Ferd Allred believes his team has the talent to succeed.
“I do have some seniors and I do have one girl returning. If they’ll step up and play to where their ability is, they’ll do well,” he explained. “But lack of varsity time will take some time to get going, but they’ll be okay.”
Allred continued, “I just want them to do the best they can. I think we’ll start off kinda slow until they get a little bit of varsity time. Then, as the year goes, they’ll gradually increase and get better and we should be up in the mix of things.”
Along with the lack of experience, the Spartans are also missing height on the team. What they lack in size, however, they make up for with their quickness, agility and work ethic. “We don’t have a lot of big girls, but this group is pretty athletic and pretty good hustlers,” Allred said. “They’ll pick the ball off the floor and battle. They’ll do pretty good that way.”
The region will be competitive with the likes of Richfield, Carbon and Canyon View. The Wildcats figured things out at the end of last year and really turned it on. They bring back the most players from last year, including the big, athletic Nicole Willardson. Canyon View has size while Carbon is always in contention.
“Richfield is the team to beat. The rest of us will be pushing them and battling each other,” admitted Allred. But that does not mean that he thinks Richfield is in a league of its own. “I think we can beat them, I think Carbon can beat them.”
Allred wrapped up with this thought. “I think the girls will have a successful season. They’ll have fun if they buckle down, work hard and work together. I think they’ll have a lot of fun.”