MADISON – The Scott girls basketball team enters the 2021-2022 season eager to put last year behind them.
The Lady Skyhawks, who won just three games, dealt with COVID-19 issues and never learned how to close out games last season.
“We won the games we should have won, but the close games that I felt we should have won, we didn’t close them out,” Scott coach Kevin Harper said. “We got better all season long and competed in our sectional game against Lincoln County, but we just couldn’t close that game out.”
The Lady Skyhawks entered the Class AAA Region 4, Section 2 tournament as the fifth seed and took fourth seed Lincoln County to the limits. The Lady Panthers were able to put the Lady Skyhawks away and advance with a 61-48 victory ending the Lady Skyhawks season at 3-13.
Harper enters his third season as Scott coach and if the offseason is any indication, then the Lady Skyhawks have the pieces for a successful 2021-22 season.
“We had several ladies buy into the offseason program and work to get better,” Harper said. “We are definitely going to shoot the ball better and I hope we are better in transition.”
Senior Shea Miller, Scott’s leading scorer last season at 9.1 points, returns and is a threat to score from anywhere on the court.
“Shea is a shooter and I want to see her take her senior year to get back on track and earn that concern from opposing coaches,” Harper said. “She will score from more places this year, has improved her ball handling and driving ability and will help us spread the floor.”
Another senior Gracie Ferrell will be relied upon to score from the inside. Last season, Ferrell averaged 8.7 points per game and hauled down 6.8 rebounds per contest.
“Gracie put a lot of work in this offseason, and I think everybody will see the Gracie that I’ve seen at times the last few year,” Harper said. “She is able to take over a game with scoring and rebounding and I look forward to seeing that this season.”
Junior Jenna Butcher, who averaged 5.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season, returns to run the point position for the Lady Skyhawks.
“She is the motor that keeps us running and she is going to have to run the team and on most nights play defense on the other team’s best player,” Harper said. “She was definitely one of the hardest workers this offseason and has concentrated on shooting and handling the ball.”
Freshmen Kesley Harper and Haven Tomblin as well as senior Brooke Ball are players that Harper feels could make an impact this season.
“Kelsey will have a chance to show what hard work in the offseason does for an individual,” Harper said. “She has worked hard and it definitely shows, inside and outside she is going to be a force for us.
“Brooke is a senior that is going to help us in the paint and will get some quality minutes and that will mean a lot to our team. Haven was out a little bit of the offseason with an injury, but we believe she will work her way into the rotation and help us with our ball handling, perimeter defense and shooting.”
Seniors Carlie Adkins and Abby Walls as well as sophomore Skylare Turner are pushing for playing time this season and freshmen Olivia Moore, Madison Myers, Kyleigh Nunnery, Chelsea Roberts, Chrissy Roberts and Amelia Smith round out the Lady Skyhawks roster.
“We are a lot younger this year than we were last year,” Harper said. “We have eight freshmen on the team and we are also not as post heavy, but we have some players that can get it done in the paint offensively and defensively.”
Two players the Lady Skyhawks will have to replace this season are Lilly Bias and Leah Davis. Bias gave the Lady Skyhawks minutes off the bench while Davis averaged 8.1 points and hauled 8.4 rebounds last season.
“Leah gave our program everything she had, and you simply cannot replace that,” Harper said. “We are going to miss her presence in the paint.”
“Lilly gave us quality minutes off the bench,” Harper said. “Her defense and hustle will be missed.”
Harper will be joined on the bench by assistant coaches Mark Hale and Brent Kirk.
“Coach Hale is a wealth of knowledge, a great communicator and an even better role model to me and the players,” Harper said. “We look forward to building our program and having a JV schedule and I couldn’t think of a better coach to have with us for that. Coach Kirk takes care of everything we don’t know needs taken care of until we find out that he has already taken care of it for us. A great man, a great teacher and we would not know what to do without him.”
Scott will be challenged by a demanding schedule that includes games with reigning Class AAA champion Nitro as well as Class AAA semifinalist Logan. Also included on the schedule are rivalry games with Chapmanville and Boone County rivals Sherman and Van.
Cardinal Conference games with Herbert Hoover, Poca, Sissonville, Wayne and Winfield as well as games with Charleston Catholic, Lincoln County, Ripley and South Charleston as well as Chesapeake (Ohio).
“The Cardinal Conference is as tough a conference in girls basketball as I think you will see in the state from top to bottom,” Harper said. “We definitely have some tough non-conference games and some in county ‘rivalry’ games.”
Scott will take part in the Class AAA Region 4, Section 2 tournament with Huntington St. Joe, Lincoln County, Logan and Wayne.
The winner and runner-up from Section 2 will advance to the Region 4 co-finals where they will face either Nitro, Point Pleasant, Ripley or Winfield.
“I think we match up well this season in our section and even our regional,” Harper said. “If we progress like I think this team can, we will be competing come sectional and regional time.”
Scott opens the season Dec. 2 on the road at Charleston Catholic.
“I think we are ready to get out on the floor and show people we are going to be there to compete every night,” Harper said. “All the coaches and the players are ready to get back to some type of normalcy which a is a full schedule, fans in the stands, and the enjoyment that comes along with that.”
