New faces abound for Lady Panthers

With only two seniors on its roster, the Siloam Springs girls basketball team is going to have several new faces at the varsity level for the 2018-19 season.

The Lady Panthers have a full roster of 15 players, but seven are juniors and another six are part of a talented sophomore group that contended for postseason play as freshmen last year.

The Lady Panthers have had a good offseason and sixth-year coach Tim Rippy hopes that carries over into the season, which begins Friday night at home against Providence Academy.

"The gym's been full this fall," Rippy said. "It's been a good fall. We've made a lot of progress in a lot of areas."

Rippy said 11 of the team's players went through preseason with four others participating in volleyball.

Since volleyball ended in late October, the Lady Panthers have only had around 10 practices with everyone in attendance.

"Everything is still new, but they've been working really well together," Rippy said. "We're excited to see growth in this group. There's a lot of new faces. The growth ceiling is higher than it's been."

Guard Chloe Price and post Emery Brown are the Lady Panthers' only seniors and both have plenty of experience at the varsity level.

"We're counting on those two to be leaders for us," Rippy said. "They're working hard and being vocal, jumping to the front of the line for drills and being leaders and showing those little intangibles."

Price, a three-year starter at point guard, is the team's leading returning scorer at 10.4 points per game. She recently returned to the team after helping the volleyball team to a state semifinals appearance.

"Chloe's a really good athlete," Rippy said. "We really saw growth from her over the summer in basketball development and decision making. She's really learning how to get open and be an effective scorer for us and also control the tempo of the game. She's capable of getting us into the right offense.

"She has about 60 games under her belt at the varsity level and we're counting on her to be able to make decisions for us and communicate instructions from the bench, and I think she'll be ready for that assignment."

Brown saw action in the post last year and has improved her game around the basket.

"She can score with both hands and is a threat to score in the post," Rippy said of Brown. "Finishing with both hands around the rim is a huge advantage, and she's really developed her left hand over the last eight months."

Juniors Jael Harried and Brooklynn "Turtle" Shreve each saw playing time as sophomores with the varsity last year.

"Jael is one we expect for this to be a breakout year for her," Rippy said. "She's definitely shown intangibles in practice. She's a good outside shooter and is much improved attacking the basket. We need her to be a rebounder and a defensive player. She's got the length to get tips and deflections, and she's pretty good at being vocal. Her voice carries and I feel like it's time to see her step up and become a major contributor."

Shreve is one of the Lady Panthers' top outside shooters.

"Turtle has the ability to be our best perimeter shooter at times," Rippy said. "She holds several shooting records in drills. We need her to look for her shot and be a consistent rebounder. She's a good passer. She makes good decisions."

Junior Brooke Henderson is an athletic player and can be an effective rebounder, Rippy said.

"We need her to go in and get rebound after rebound," he said. "She can be an energy kid for us. She's great at taking charges and has toughness. That's exactly what we need from her."

Junior Alexsis Fortner has shot the ball well in practice and the coaches are hoping that carries over to live play.

Junior Morgan Winesburg has the biggest frame of any Lady Panther at 5-10 and is the strongest post player.

"She's got to be a contributor on the boards," Rippy said.

Cheyanne Pfeifer and Candy Dubon round out the Lady Panthers' junior class.

Siloam Springs has several sophomores that will figure into the mix as well. The sophomores went 14-7 as freshmen and were coached for the final half of the season by Rippy with the previous ninth-grade coach Erin Portmann on maternity leave. They finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Northwest Arkansas Conference and were left out of the playoffs on a tiebreaker.

"We had a lot of fun last year at the end, trying to get into the regional tournament," Rippy said. "We wound up in a tie and got pointed out. It was fun to coach them through the conference season. It was a good learning experience for them and also prepared me for how they handle pressure. I enjoyed the experience and I think it will only benefit that group of kids as we move forward."

Sydney Moorman was the point guard on the ninth-grade team and will likely see action at both guard positions this fall. Moorman also is a two-time state champion with cross country and was a starter on the Lady Panthers' state title soccer team last spring.

"She's had a terrific fall and has worked extremely hard," Rippy said. "She's really picked up what we're doing defensively and has really improved her defense between ninth and 10th grade."

Jadyn Still can be an explosive guard at scoring the basketball.

"She gets to the free-throw line a lot in practice," Rippy said. "She's another kid that can knock down threes. She's a streaky shooter, but when she makes one she might make four or five in a row. She can score in bunches."

Quincy Efurd was the cross country team's second-highest finisher at the state meet and, the basketball coaches are excited about her potential. Efurd will likely see a lot of point guard time in junior varsity action.

"She's made tremendous strides as a basketball player," Rippy said. "She'll get a lot of minutes on the wing because she's really good defensively. The sky is the limit for her."

Post Mia Hevener possesses some unique skills, Rippy said.

Hevener can shoot the 3-pointer and might be the best free-throw shooter on the team.

"She can really shoot the basketball," Rippy said of Hevener. "She's going to surprise some people early in the year. We look for her to be physical in the post and be a rebounder for us."

Sophomores Emma Greathouse and Hattie Price round out the sophomore group.

The Lady Panthers will compete in the 5A-West Conference along with returning state finalist Greenwood (22-10), Vilonia (25-6) and Little Rock Christian (29-3), which features two Division I prospects. Russellville, Alma, Greenbrier and Beebe round out the league. The top four teams from the 5A-West will advance to the postseason.

"I feel like we might have the best league," Rippy said. "The state champion could very well come from our league. Just making the top four will be a battle."

Sports on 11/14/2018