By Mary Granath Posted December 17, 2008
“We’ve been hard at it,” said coach Jack Smith of the varsity girls basketball team.
Lowry beat Elko on December 2 and then hosted in the Lowry Invitational Tournament where they won against Wooster but lost to HUG and Elko.
“We’re making some mistakes,” stated Smith “but we’re learning. Things are coming along nicely.”
The Bucks will play Damonte Ranch December 10 and then compete at the High Sierra Classic December 11 through the 13.
“I expect to have a pretty tough pre-season schedule,” Smith said.
However, he also stated that he expects to have the new players adjusted to the system by the time league rolls around. “So that we can make another playoff run,” Lowry has added wrinkles to the existing offensive system that was formally known as Flex, but now goes by the team’s own ingenious name: Nevada.
Smith learned numerous things from his first year of coaching at Lowry last year, he now has a feel for the type of players he has. He also acknowledged that they are a well-behaved group.
“I just have to teach basketball. I don’t have to discipline very much,” said Smith. His team is like a family he proclaimed.
Something that has made coaching simpler for Smith this year is the help of returning players.
“A lot of returning players are making it easy because they know the system,” said Smith. He stated that progress is being made quicker because returning players are helping the younger players, “Things are going smoother.”
Returning to the team this year are Morgen Thacker (All-State Guard), Amaya Criswell, (Honorable Mention All-State), Skylar Estes (All-League), Quinn Mader, and Miranda Quilici. New to the team this year are Darrian Black, Rachelle Dennis, Julia Dufurrena, Courtney Hammond, Lynnsey Johnson, Ashlee Lee, and Desirae Lemm.
Lowry will face some stiff league competition.
“No doubt it will be Truckee and Yerington again,” said Smith. Lowry faces Yerington on January 16 at an away game and then again on February 2 at home. The Bucks will play Truckee on January 24 at home and then on February 12 at an away game.
Smith’s final words for his players were, “Stay focused, be persistent, and out of that positive things will happen.”
Overall, the girl’s varsity basketball team looks to have a dazzling future filled with competition and, let’s face it, many, many wins.
