Scott City Girls Basketball Preview

Conference: Scott-Mississippi

Coach: Travis Schiwitz, 1st year

District: Class 3 District 2

Schedule:

Date Day of Week Opponent Location Time

December 1, 2014 Monday Chaffee Away 6 p.m.

December 4, 2014 Thursday Charleston Home 6 p.m.

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

December 15, 2014 Monday Woodland Home 6 p.m.

December 17-22 Wednesday-Monday Kelso Supply Holiday Classic Show-Me Center TBA

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

January 19, 2015 Monday Kelly Away 6 p.m.

January 22, 2015 Thursday Scott County Central Home 6 p.m.

January 26, 2015 Monday Puxico Away 6 p.m.

January 29, 2015 Thursday Saxony Lutheran Home 6 p.m.

January 31, 2015 Saturday Clearwater (Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout) Charleston TBA

February 2, 2015 Monday East Prairie Away 6 p.m.

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

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

February 10, 2015 Tuesday Perryville Away 6 p.m.

February 11, 2015 Wednesday Meadow Heights Home 6 p.m.

February 18, 2015 Wednesday St. Vincent Home 6 p.m.

February 19, 2015 Thursday Oran Away 6 p.m.

Roster:

Player Year Height

Lyndsie Robert 12 5-6

Anna Kern 12 5-6

Michaela Kiefer 12 5-10

Natalie Woods 12 6-0

Carly Howell 12 5-6

Billi Charleston 12 5-4

Autumn Mason 12 5-6

Liz Hensley 12 5-6

Hannah Shemonia 11 5-6

Morgan Pettit 11 5-5

Bella Bowers 11 5-5

Tori Buckner 10 5-4

Katie Blattel 10 5-7

Ginny Mott 10 5-7

Paige Nanney 9 5-4

Skylar Rhymer 9 5-3

Faith Grant 9 5-7

Katie Smith 9 5-7

Returning starters: Lyndsie Robert, Natalie Woods, Anna Kern, Michaela Kiefer

Starters lost: Shea Martin

Last year's record: 1-21

Postseason result: Lost to Saxony Lutheran 77-23 in a district quarterfinal

Season outlook

Travis Schiwitz has nine years of experience as an assistant coach at the varsity level, but he's never had a chance, until now, to be a head coach.

Schiwitz will be the third Scott City girls coach the Rams have had in the past three years.

Schiwitz said he didn't find out about the job until the beginning of October, giving him little time to teach his new team.

"There was no offseason for me at all. It was very sudden," Schiwitz said. "I've just been preaching a good effort every day in practice and hopefully the skill sets and positioning on the court will come along as the season goes on."

The Rams only starter not returning is Shea Martin, who graduated at the end of last year.

Scott City's other four starters from a season ago are all seniors, including the Rams leading scorer Natalie Woods.

"These are girls that I know can play, I just think they need to put in a little extra work," Schwitz said. "They've been staying late in practice and fixing their mistakes. Even though I haven't had much time to work with them, I think they're picking up on the things that I'm showing them. It's really hard when a coach comes in and says what you've learned is wrong and we're going to do it different, and I get that. So right now the offense that I put in is going to take some time to develop, but I do see us improving."

Schiwitz said the Rams will rely on what little amounts of speed and height they do have. Woods, the Rams tallest player, stands at 5-foot-11.

"It's not a lot, but I do think we're going to have to use that to our advantage," Schiwitz said. "We're going to be a team that likes to push it up the floor as fast as possible. If we don't have anything out of a break, then obviously we're going to pull back and run an offense. With the height that we do have, I feel like we can use that to our advantage. Getting the ball down low to Natalie and then working it around until we can get an open shot will be about the best and most efficient offense that we can run with the talent that we have."

District breakdown

The Rams will be joined in Class 3 District 2 by Saxony Lutheran, the defending district champions and fourth-place finishers in the Class 3 state final four. Charleston joins the group, replacing St. Pius X (Festus).

Schiwitz said he hasn't spent much time thinking about potential district matchups, but knows the road to a district title game will be tough.

"You have a Class 3 final four team in Saxony that's there, Kelly is coming off one of their best years out of the last couple and now you have to deal with a team like Charleston that is always quick and aggressive," Schiwitz said. "There's not any slouches in there that I can see, which means that we can't be either."

Looking back

Scott City finished the season with a 1-21 record. Schiwitz said he doesn't blame the players for last year's bad season. The former Scotty City boys assistant said the Rams have talent, they just need better coaching.

"With no disrespect to anybody that's been there before me, just the basic overall knowledge of the game that was being taught to them was lacking," Schiwitz said. "It was lacking, and I came in not trying to put too much in at one time. There will be plenty for them to learn, but what we have already learned, we're going to make sure we know inside and out."