Indians bring back one starter

When Jackson coach Sam Sides thinks back to last year, he says his team was "one big shot away from going to the final four," losing to Normandy in the state quarterfinals by five points.

But with only one starter returning from that team, it might be difficult this season for a new group of inexperienced Indians to make another bid at a state title.

"We're a relatively whole new team this year," Sides said. "We've been practicing for a couple weeks now and it's kind of been a slow go because we're kind of low on numbers this year, too. But we're competing and practicing. We're not going to be very big. That's going to be a weakness we have to overcome. But I think we'll play hard. And I think we can shoot the ball a bit and we're just trying to come together."

The one returning starter is senior point guard Cody Goodpasture. Sides also had another all-region player returning in guard Kelci Keith, who never started but saw considerable minutes. Another returning bench player is guard/forward Ashten Howard, who came up from the junior varsity toward the end of last year and received some playing time.

"All the rest of the players were backups last year or off the JV team," Sides said.

Jackson's Cody Goodpasture, right, is shown scrambling for a ball during her sophomore season. Goodpasture, a senior, is the lone returning starter for the Indians. (Southeast Missourian file)

Sides said Goodpasture will use her leadership and experience to help some of the younger players adjust. He said she does not score much, but she's a good ball handler, plays strong defensively and uses her quickness to lead the offense up and down the court.

Sides said he'll look to Keith and Howard to replace some of the scoring that was lost.

Keith can shoot 3-pointers and also drive to the basket. Howard, more of a spot shooter, was the leading scorer on the junior varsity before becoming a scoring option in the postseason last year. Sides said he thinks he will come to rely on other new players to be viable scorers as well.

Jackson will lose size and scoring in the paint with the graduation of 5-foot-10 center Amanda Peiffer. Sides said he has been working a number of players inside, including 5-9 junior Chelsea Bartles and 5-8 sophomore Cassandra Bollinger.

Jackson will start its season at the Farmington tournament

"We're just going to do the best we can every game we play," Sides said. "I just tell them we're going to play as hard as we can for as long as we can and see what comes out of that. Other than that, I expect them to be prepared and represent our school and play hard. If we do that, winning and losing will take care of itself."