Second-year Solanco girls basketball coach Chad McDowell knows his team is going to make some mistakes. And he's fine with that provided the Mules learn from their miscues. "I'm preaching patience," McDowell said. "I think we can make an improvement, but it's going to take time. Patience is key. We need to gain experience quickly." The Mules were 5-18 in McDowell's first season and lost five players to graduation including four starters.
McDowell is optimistic for several reasons. He has a talented group of returning players who have benefitted from offseason workouts. The Mules have two transfers with varsity experience. And, the high school program is buoyed by a promising group of freshmen who played on the Junior High squad that finished 13-3 last winter. "I'm very happy with what I've seen so far in practices," McDowell said. "They are working hard and they're learning new concepts and new aspects of the game." A year's experience in McDowell's system is paying dividends for the returning players. "We're already seeing that," he said. "They understand what we're doing. We're further along than we were at this point last year." Two seniors – Gabby Rossi and Cayla Robinson – will anchor the Mules' backcourt. Rossi attended Solanco as a freshman but spent the last two years at Lancaster Catholic. "Gabby will be a catalyst for our offense," McDowell said. Senior Cayla Robinson saw a lot of minutes on the varsity last season after bouncing back from an injury. Juniors Makenzie Dillinger and Elaina Daily are also expected to contribute. Several newcomers will help out. "We have a bunch of freshmen in the mix and they've just recently started separating themselves," said McDowell. Freshmen Grace Kreider, Jessica Cabrera, and Aleska Burger each are vying for varsity minutes. Solanco is relying on junior forward Jen Eberly. "Jen was primarily our defensive stopper last season," said McDowell. "We used her to guard the opposition's top scorer and she did a nice job." The coach said junior center Nikki Boultinghouse provides a presence in the post. Sophomore center Liz Mowrer is a transfer from Columbia where she saw varsity time as a freshman. "Liz is a good, solid post player and definitely will be a key contributor off the bench," McDowell said. Solanco has just two seniors in the high school program to go along with four juniors, two sophomores, and 11 freshmen. There are 23 seventh and eighth graders in the Junior High program and 15 girls participating on a sixth grade travel team. While the future seems bright, McDowell is also excited about the present. "I think we'll make major improvement over last year," he said. "Our goal is reach and exceed last year's win total, be competitive in our section, and compete for a league playoff berth." Solanco starts the season Friday night when they face the host school in the Twin Valley Tip-Off Tournament. Comments are closed.
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