Lady Wildcats counting on new help, conditioning

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Thursday, July 2, 2009

While the Benjamin Russell boys basketball team has been in the news much of the off-season with the hiring of new head coach Michael Goggans, now second-year head coach of the Lady Wildcats Ron Rowe and his team have been working out strong all summer.

BRHS won 15 games in Rowe’s first season, but was knocked out in the first round of the area tournament. This season, however, BRHS will have to replace several of its top producers from a year ago, including point guard Denisha Hutchins and power forward Denavia Harrison.

Rowe is hoping a couple of younger players and this roster’s quickness will make up for the losses.

“This year I have a lot of speed, or at least more than we did last season,” Rowe said. “I want us to put pressure on other teams and get a lot of fast breaks. There will still be set plays, but I want to outrun teams. But, to do that, our conditioning has to get a lot better and we need more depth. We need to be able to play a lot more people than we did last year.”

The Lady Wildcats return five players from last season, and they’ll be counted on heavily. BRHS will also have a new, older addition to the roster this year in junior Y’Keona Kelley.

“Nikki Jackson, Tasha Hicks and DeeAudra Daneils saw a lot of time for us last year, and they’ve shown some improvement this summer,” Rowe said. “Secorria Spivey has gotten a lot better since June, too. I’ve watched her work hard since we started. Y’Keona will be a big help for us, as well.

“I’m going to move up an eighth grader and a ninth grader to hopefully add to our depth,” Rowe said. “We’ve got about a 6-foot-2 girl named Russell who has a lot of upside and should create problems for other teams just because of her side. Jazmine Lopez is the freshman I’m bringing up. I’m not doing this just to be doing it. I think they will really be able to contribute.”

BRHS, who had this week off, started workouts on June 1 and will continue to practice twice a week until school starts. Rowe said he is excited about entering his second year with the team and that he is more equipped to do a better job in year two.

“I think I’m better prepared in terms of what to coach the girls on and with game management,” Rowe said. “The girls have a different style. It’s not like in a boys game where one they can sit back and shoot 3’s all game. You have to be more fundamentally sound in the girls game. I’m stressing that and defense all year.

“We surprised a lot of teams last year,” Rowe said. “Our area will be tough again, but we have some athletes that can handle the ball and shoot. I think it’s going to be a fun season for us.”

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