Delta Girls Basketball Preview

Conference: Scott-Mississippi

Coach: Gary Poyner, 3rd year

District: Class 1 District 2

Schedule:

Date Day of Week Opponent Location Time

November 25, 2014 Tuesday Malden Home 6 p.m.

December 2, 2014 Tuesday St. Vincent Home 6 p.m.

December 4, 2014 Thursday East Prairie Away 6 p.m.

December 8-13, 2014 Monday-Saturday Lady Red Devils Invitational Chaffee TBA

December 16, 2014 Tuesday Shawnee (Wolf Lake, Ill.) Away 6 p.m.

December 18, 2014 Thursday Scott County Central Home 6 p.m.

January 2, 2015 Friday Charleston Away 6 p.m.

January 5-8, 2015 Monday-Thursday Delta New Years Tournament Delta TBA

January 12-17, 2015 Monday-Saturday Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament Kelly TBA

January 22, 2015 Thursday Oran Home 6 p.m.

January 26, 2015 Monday Egyptian (Tamms, Ill.) Away 6 p.m.

January 29, 2015 Thursday Chaffee Home 6 p.m.

January 31, 2015 Saturday Lesterville Three Rivers College 1 p.m.

February 2, 2015 Monday Meadow Heights Away 6 p.m.

February 5, 2015 Thursday Puxico Home 6 p.m.

February 9, 2015 Monday Scott City Home 6 p.m.

February 12, 2015 Thursday Woodland Away 6 p.m.

February 16, 2015 Monday Campbell Home 6 p.m.

February 19, 2015 Thursday Kelly Home 6 p.m.

Roster:

No. Player Year

10 Jamie Hodge 11

12 Tamera Crowden 9

20 Lexi Mitchell 9

21 Lydia Borneman 10

23 Carrie Waddle 10

24 Erin Bond 11

30 Selina Smith 10

32 Meagan Parker 12

34 Cooper Simpson 10

52 Kiley Wicker 10

55 Kelsi Winder 11

Returning starters: Meagan Parker, Jamie Hodge

Starters lost: Tia May, Chasity Taylor, Rachel Birkman, Alysha Vessels

Last year's record: 3-17

Postseason result: Lost to Leopold 87-22 in opening round of the Class 1 District 2 tournament

Last year's leaders:

Points: Jamie Hodge (8.5 ppg)

Rebounds: Erin Bond (5 rpg)

Assists: Tia May (3 apg)

District breakdown

Youth may be the biggest challenge the Delta girls basketball team faces this season.

The Bobcats have one returning senior and two juniors. The rest of their roster is made up of six sophomores and a freshman.

But third-year coach Gary Poyner is ready to tackle that obstacle as the season progresses.

"This is a season I'm looking forward to. I feel like we're going to get better as the season goes along," Poyner said. "When you have a mix of young players like we do, you're going to have your ups and downs. But I feel like this group is very capable. We will play through those ups and downs, and we'll continue to get better."

The six Delta sophomores saw success at the JV level last year. The Bobcats won the Scott-Mississippi conference tournament last season and have built some chemistry together, which Poyner said will help at the varsity level.

"We won the conference and some tournaments, so we've had some success at that level," Poyner said. "If they are able to take what they already know and teach it to some of our younger players we will have a pretty good team. The trick is to make sure that everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what it is we're trying to execute on both sides of the floor. From what I've seen in practice the girls are getting to know each other and are really eager to learn new plays and make them work."

Poyner said the Bobcats will run a similar type of offense from last year's squad with one goal in mind: getting good shot opportunities.

"Our biggest problem last year was turning the ball over and most of the time that ruined any good shot opportunity that we had." Poyner said. "My senior and my returners know that was my biggest pet peeve. We'll run just about the same type of offense, which can work if we're not turning the ball over."

The Bobcats begin the season Tuesday at home against Malden. Poyner said the key to overcoming youth and other obstacles rests on their ability to play together as a team.

"There's really not a star in the group, but they play well together and they're a balanced group," Poyner said. "Each night we go out you could have one person lead us in scoring, then the next night we go out it could be somebody else. That's one thing that's unique about this group I have right now."

District breakdown

Class 2 power Oran will join Class 1 District 2 this season. The Eagles won their district last year and Poyner expects them to be top contenders for the Class 1 District 2 title this year.

"They won their district in 2A last season and they're still going to be pretty good," Poyner said about Oran. "They lost a couple kids to graduation, but they still have a couple kids that are pretty good. Going into this season I feel like Oran is still going to be a good team and right in the mix to win the district."

Looking back

Delta finished last season with a 3-17 record, but Poyner said the Bobcats' lineup wasn't nearly what it is this season.

"We have girls that can step up when somebody needs a breather or somebody gets hurt. Last year, that wasn't even an option," Poyner said. "There are things about this team that I look at and say, 'Wow things compared to last year have completely changed.' I think that's because we have some girls moving up who have that extra experience needed to play at this level. Varsity might be different for them, but I think the can adjust quickly."

-- Ben Striker