Latham hopes experience leads to wins
Published 9:42 am Thursday, December 1, 2016
There’s enough talent on the Garrard County girls basketball roster to end a streak of two straight losing seasons. But the question coach Scott Latham has is, can they stay healthy?
The Golden Lions will return three starters to their lineup, Sam Adams, Maddy Day and Sis Logan, while fellow senior Neek Hocker returns after sitting out her junior year with an injury.
Logan led the team with 11.9 points per game last year while also making a team-high 39 percent of her 3-point attempts. She was second on the team with 7.7 rebounds as well.
Day added 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and three assists while Adams put up 8.7 points and 3.1 boards, making a team-best 39 3-pointers.
“Being in my third season, we are looking to build on our season from last year,” Latham said. “I feel that we can compete for the district and make it to the region. Again we must be able to stay healthy.”
The Lions went 13-17 last year, improving upon a 9-20 record in Latham’s first season. However, they’ve now gone three seasons without winning a regular season game in the 45th District, a streak that’s reached 19 straight losses.
But with players such as Fran Montgomery, Olivia Saylor, Madisyn Neeley, Alicia Logan, Katy Pozzuto, Chloe Zeznanski and Brittny Butner, Latham thinks that winless streak could be soon over.
“I feel that if we can stay healthy and get everyone back that we can compete for our district,” he said. “We have to stay healthy and young players have to be ready to go.”
The Golden Lions start the season Saturday with a home date against Lexington Catholic. They’ll sprinkle in games against West Jessamine, Madison Southern and Pulaski County before heading to Orlando for the KSA Events Holiday Tournament for three days beginning December 19.
Garrard will also host the Lady Lions Classic over winter break, beginning December 27. District rivals Boyle County and Lincoln County will also be in the field.
Follow Jeremy Schneider on Twitter @jschneideramn