Chris Caporale sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader photo by Chris Caporale Menominee Indian senior guard Autumn Chevalier works on ball handling in a practice last week. She will be one of many players looking to fill the void of scoring this winter.
Down 75 percent of its scoring from last winter, the Menominee Indian girls basketball team is looking for players to step up.
The loss of three seniors, Ania Smith, Taylor Mahkimetas and Kelsey Corn, leaves the Eagles with a massive gap in production. Head coach Chris Rice doesn’t yet know who will score for Menominee Indian, but it also means opponents, especially early in the season, won’t have an idea of how to develop a game plan against the Eagles.
“We don’t have that one player they can key on, but at the same time, who can step up?” Rice asked.
It also means that all five players on the court are going to have to work together to find ways to score.
“Losing Ania, we don’t have somebody we can really rely on, like a go-to person,” senior guard Autumn Chevalier said. “We’re going to have to work a lot harder this year.”
Smith and Corn, both post players, will open up the offense for the Eagles, who will likely not have a dominant post presence. It will allow the team to attack in different ways, such as cutting through the lane on offense and using more pressure on defense.
Chevalier and Kendra Webster bring some athleticism on the perimeter to install a full court press to use as much speed as possible. Without a consistent player to step up on the offensive side, the Eagles will take as many easy baskets as they can get.
“If we’re quick enough to beat the other team down the court, then obviously we’re going to make a lot of points from our quickness and fast break plays,” Webster said.
The Eagles, after going 19-4 overall and 16-2 in the CWC-10 in 2014-15, backed it up with an 18-6 record and 14-4 mark in the conference last year.
Keeping the winning tradition alive is something that’s on the mind of the coach and the players, especially after years middling in the CWC-10.
“They don’t want to go back to losing,” Rice said.
Chevalier hopes the Eagles can stay within the top four in the conference, although she understands it’s a difficult task.
“I think we have a lot of talent on this team,” Chevalier said.