Roster turnover is a problem that every sports team has to grapple with, and this year’s girls basketball team isn’t any different.
What is different, though, is who turned over. Beyond the graduating class, three more Tigers won’t be returning for the 2024-25 season. Seniors Blakely Hockett and Ellie Neath have committed to play collegiate soccer, and senior Lydia Struble isn’t playing, either.
In total, the team lost about 33% of last season’s scoring output, with 16.7 points per game leaving the roster. Now, facing “quite a bit of change,” as senior Layne Logan put it, the Tigers have to replace that production.
“At first, we had to get used to playing without our point guard and one of the best defenders,” junior Lainey McFarlin said. “But, we all have stepped up … to fill the roles.”
McFarlin, who was second on the team in scoring last year, listed players like junior Mia Semith, sophomore Sophie Shaprio and herself as players who will have a heightened role this season.
“Sophie’s role has increased because she is now our point guard and ‘boss’ on the court,” McFarlin said.
Shapiro, who averaged 7.6 points per game, 2.7 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game last season, said the “boss” label doesn’t quite fit.
“I wouldn’t like to call myself a boss, but more of a connector,” she said. “I enjoy connecting the girls on the team on and off the court and making sure everyone is on the same page.”
Shapiro added that her teammates’ support alleviates any stress on her.
“I love all the girls playing with me always, so I don’t feel any pressure,” she said. “I know my team and coaches will support me through anything, and I’ll do all I can to support them, too. I want to bring a contagious, positive energy to everyone playing with me.”
Just like Shapiro’s responsibilities as a connector, McFarlin and Semith’s roles extend beyond the court.
“[Our role won’t] just to be the playmakers but to keep everyone accountable and keep the team hyped,” McFarlin said. “For the younger, newer players, we are shown as the examples on how to play.”
Those younger, newer players have to help fill the roster’s holes, too.
“Kennedy [Gieseking] will be stepping up and having a bigger role playing some guard and post,” McFarlin said. “Gabby [Cook] had some big varsity moments last year, but this year she will be one of our main post players.”
Gieseking, who appeared in 19 of 31 games last season, said that the biggest role comes with increased pressure.
“It brings a bigger pressure to be able to put up stats for the team and just providing in any way I can, whether that be on the floor or on the bench,” she said.
For Logan, having a roster without as many seasoned veterans makes leadership paramount.
“Leadership [has] a big role in our group this year and [so does] just figuring out a way to work with each other, which I feel we are doing a really good job on this season,” Logan said.
According to Shapiro, while the team looks much different than they did on their 15-4 run to end last season, they’ve translated a fresh roster into “fresh energy.
“That’s what we’ve been generating in practice,” Shapiro said. “The vibe is definitely confident, positive and high effort. The coaches and players have helped a lot to create that environment.”
McFarlin said that the environment in practice has put the team in a position to start this season strong against the Pleasant Plains Cardinals Nov. 22.
“We have been putting [in] a lot more hard work trying to get some big wins this season,” she said. “I feel like we are in a good spot to come out hot.”