Hitting the rack strong

Playing without Sierra Watson, Jodi Thomasian, Jennifer Bonham and Ivorie Taylor, The Dalles had a roster of four freshmen, a sophomore and juniors Shaynie Watson, Brooke McCall and Kailin Hoylman ready for action.

The Dalles lost its first game of the night by a 34-29 score to Lyle-Wishram, but then rebounded with a 28-12 victory over South Wasco County.

Given the extra work in the summer, McCall was happy to see the development of incoming freshmen Gabby Garcia, Athena Thomas, Eliana Ortega and Hannah Wallis. Marissa Heemsah showed some post abilities with her 5-foot-9 inch frame.

“A lot of them are just incoming freshmen, but from the first game until the last game, they grew a lot,” McCall said. “They are a lot more comfortable and confident playing with us, so I think it will help later on.”

Through the summer, the emphasis is on fundamentals, execution and teamwork, and filling in some spots on the inside vacated by graduated senior Olivia Starks.

Lori Cimmiyotti, Karen Jesch and Bonham can fill that role if needed, and McCall said if she is needed to go down on the blocks, she is willing.

“I am excited for this season because we all have team chemistry and the younger girls have really stepped it up,” McCall said. “We all have to play to the best of our ability. When the older girls play good, they play good, so it kind of carries over to better play and winning games.”

Fielding the youngest team of the night for head coach Bill Mead and assistant Randy Barton was South Wasco County.

Of the 12 players dressed Tuesday, the Redsides had seven freshmen, including Kyrsten Sprouse, Abby Birman, Bailey Hahn, Jacqueline Noland, Jada Myers, Madisen Davis and Noel Rager. That group was part of a middle school group that finished undefeated last season under Coach Jason Birman.

“There’s a lot of expectations for us since we did well in our eighth grade year,” Myers said. “But, we are also playing against older girls now, so we are going to try and stay in there and hopefully get better and progress.”

Added to that mix, Ana Popchock, Allie Noland and Chelsey Doudna enter their second seasons with varsity work under their belts.

Juniors Lindsey Hull and Ally Muhleman, along with seniors Cassie Davis and Tatum Hahn bring experience and a winning pedigree to the mix for a Redside team that won four of their last six games to end the 2014-2015 campaign.

Myers said the team has been focused on playing cohesive basketball to get better acclimated to the varsity game, so hustling, being competitive and learning the playbook are essential.

With a smaller group, she said the Redsides will use pressure defense, transition opportunities and speed to its advantage.

“I think that’ll be a big asset for us next year,” Myers said. “We have done pretty good in the summer, considering we have a young team, so I am very excited.”

Some big changes are in store for Coach Steve Bird and the Sherman Huskies this winter, but with a talented core of Kiersten Casper, Emily Hill, Brittney Orendorff, Brianna McKinney, there could be bigger wins on the horizon.

Lexi Grenvik, Samantha Lepinski, Emma Stutzman, Emily Poirier and Jeanna Hill also figure to be battling it out for extra minutes of the floor.

Tuesday, the Huskies beat Horizon Christian by a 24-20 score, and then they lost 27-19 to Goldendale.

Bird is hoping last year’s district championship berth, state play-in win and final push, is a vaulting pad for this squad.

“The confidence that we gained from going down to North Douglas last year, we got better as the game went on,” Bird said. “We want to use that as a stepping stone to improve overall. I think we can. I think it will all be on the offensive end. We can play defense, but we have to score the ball. We have a couple of kids who are shooting the ball much better from the outside, so that is promising.”

Led by new coach Jack Henderson, the Dufur Rangers have a slew of newcomers around the trio of Emily DePriest, Chloe Beeson and Sydney Reed for the upcoming hoops season.

Reghan Smith, Breana Kelly, Kayla Bailey, Mikayla Kelly and Maddy Smith represent the youth of the Rangers, who will be without a few graduated all-league players.

In three games, Dufur lost by seven points to Horizon Christian (31-24), lost by 11 to South Wasco County (27-16) and lost to Lyle.

“We do have a couple of younger girls coming up to play this season,” DePriest said. “Since they are young, they are full of enthusiasm and they are ready to play. That energy is contagious and it will help us come together very well. I think it’ll work out.”

South Wasco County hosts another exhibition session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Maupin.