Oran Girls Basketball Preview

Conference: Scott-Mississippi

Coach: Ethan Evans

District: Class 1 District 2

Schedule:

Date Day of Week Opponent Location Time

November 25, 2014 Tuesday Scott County Central Home 6 p.m.

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

December 15, 2014 Monday New Madrid County Central Home 6 p.m.

December 18, 2014 Thursday South Pemiscot Away 6 p.m.

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

January 12-16, 2015 Monday-Friday Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament Kelly TBA

January 19, 2015 Monday Saxony Lutheran Away 6 p.m.

January 22, 2015 Thursday Delta Away 6 p.m.

January 26, 2015 Monday Meadow Heights Home 6 p.m.

January 29, 2015 Thursday Kelly Away 6 p.m.

February 3, 2015 Tuesday Chaffee Away 6 p.m.

February 5, 2015 Thursday Charleston Away 6 p.m.

February 9, 2015 Monday Woodland Away 6 p.m.

February 12, 2015 Thursday East Prairie Home 6 p.m.

February 16, 2015 Monday St. Vincent Away 6 p.m.

February 19, 2015 Thursday Scott City Home 6 p.m.

Roster:

Player Year

Hannah Scherer 11

Ashlyn McIntosh 11

Allison Cummins 12

Tatum May 11

Kaylen Glastetter 12

Brianna Stause 10

Gabrielle Krapf 10

Abby Essner 10

Jordan Schott 10

Autumn Westrich 10

Returning starters: Ashlyn McIntosh, Allison Cummins

Starters lost: Addie Kielhofner, Taylor Nenninger, Chrissie Sauceda

Last year's record: 18-6

Postseason result: Lost to New Haven 47-27 in a state sectional

Last year's leaders:

Points: Addie Kielhofner (14.9 ppg)

Rebounds: Ashlyn McIntosh (7 rpg)

Team outlook

Oran girls basketball coach Ethan Evans wants to take his program a step further.

He wants a winning tradition.

"We just want to carry over the experience of winning and being a part of winning a district championship," Evans said. "We're trying to carry that over with some kind of tradition with the program."

The Eagles lost three players to graduation, including leading scorer Addie Kielhofner, who averaged 14.9 points per game a year ago. However, Oran gets two key starters back in junior Ashlyn McIntosh and senior Allison Cummins.

"We're really going to try to key on defense to hold the other teams down," Evans said. "They've been real receptive to getting in there and learning and trying to take on different roles. When you have people that graduate, you've got to have girls that step up and want to fulfill those roles, do different things than what they had to do last year."

Cummins and McIntosh each averaged 10 points per game last season, while McIntosh averaged seven boards per game to lead the Eagles in rebounding.

Evans said Cummins and junior Tatum May provide his team with a solid defensive presence.

"They really get in the passing lanes well, really get their hands on a lot of balls and have a lot of deflections," Evans said. "We'll look to Ashlyn to be our scorer in the post and even step out and shoot the three for us some as well. Tatum and Allie are both mid-range jump shooters and can get to the goal pretty well."

In order for Oran to repeat its feat as district champion, Evans said his team is taking everything in stride.

"We want to go out and compete every night," Evans said. "We want to play the way we're capable of playing and just get better each and every night. ... I told the girls, 'We won a district title last year. We shouldn't be happy with anything less than that this year.'"

District breakdown

The Eagles will face a smaller field this season, moving from seven teams in Class 2 District 3 to the four-team Class 1 District 2.

Delta, St. Paul Lutheran and The Fulton School at St. Albans are the other teams in the district.

"I know Delta, just playing them last year and playing their junior high, they've got a lot of young talent coming up, so I know they're going to be a tough out for us in the district," Evans said. "I don't really know anything about the other two teams at this moment, but I know Delta is a team that's going to be tough, not only this year but in the next couple of years."

Oran claimed a district title last season with a 58-54 win over Bismarck before advancing to the Class 2 sectional, where New Haven ended the Eagles' season with a 47-27 victory.

"Last year, we were a little bit of a different team than what we'll be this year," Evans said. "We were really athletic, able to get up and pressure people, cause a lot of turnovers and get a lot of fastbreak points."

Looking back

Oran finished the season with an 18-6 record. Evans said he hopes to replicate last year's athleticism but with a different approach.

"We're going to try to pick and choose our spots to run," Evans said. "We're basically telling the girls it's all about defense. Just like it was last year, you're good defense creates those offensive opportunities for you."

-- Trent Singer