Cardinals try to continue improvement in Mirly's second year

It had been quite a while since Woodland had a winning season and won a district contest.

But that was the case last year in coach David Mirly's first season, as the Cardinals finished 14-12 overall and had a win in the first round of the Class 3 district tournament before losing to Charleston in the semifinals.

"We were competitive in every game, which was a big plus," Mirly said. "But it was frustrating at times because we lost five games by two points or less."

Woodland won its share of close games last year as well.

Mirly would love to continue the winning ways in 2004-05, although this year's team has very little varsity experience.

The Cardinals were a senior-dominated team last season led by Travis Benfield, who averaged 16 points and 16 rebounds per game. Benfield had one outing in which he scored 25 points and pulled down 30 rebounds.

"Travis was a force inside," Mirly said. "He made it easy for everybody."

This year's team will not only have a lot of new faces but a different personality.

"We had the personnel last year which enabled us to pound the ball inside," Mirly said. "But we lost our big guys and kept our little ones. So this year we will have to open it up more and rely more on outside shooting."

One of the keys to any success this season will depend on the consistency of the outside shots.

Woodland does have one proven scorer returning in 6-foot-3 senior forward Cody McCraw. He averaged about 12 points and six rebounds last season.

"Cody is a versatile player who can shoot the 3's and also score from the inside," Mirly said. "He is also one of our hardest workers."

The rest of the roster has very limited varsity experience, though. Sophomore guard Seth Gaines played a handful of minutes a game as a freshman and returns as second-most-experienced player behind McCraw.

"The kids are all getting a chance to play and they are working very hard to try to earn a spot in the starting lineup," Mirly said. "I have a group of seniors who did not play a lot last year. They and the rest of the guys realize that the opportunity to play and to start is there. All of the guys are going to get their chance to play, and the cream will rise to the top.

"It was great to have a winning season last year, and we aim to do so again, although we know it will be tough with our inexperience. We would also like to do better in all the tournaments we play."

Woodland will have a chance to achieve one of those goals right away. It opens the season in its own tournament, which begins Monday.