Prep Girls Hoops: Galatia looks to gas up on scoring
What Drake Patton lost in one, he is hoping he can make up in two, or three, maybe even four.
The Galatia head coach girls' basketball coach graduated Elizabeth Sloan last year and with her went nearly 20 points a game.
The Bearcats return three players off last year's team that went 7-15, won the GEC Tournament and the regional in senior Becky Gregory (12.3 ppg), along with junior Kassidy Rizor (8.4 ppg) and sophomore Kennedy Harris (4.6 ppg). The three will be expected the carry the load along with three sophomores, Maddy Murphy, Makayda Irvin and Mallory Mays, who saw some time in a varsity uniform a season ago as freshmen.
Aside from being young - Patton is also going to be guard heavy.
I expect Gregory to do the bulk of the scoring," Patton said. "My other guard is Harris and she didn't do a lot of scoring last year but she plays good defense. I hope for her to pick it up in scoring this year. Her shot looks a lot better and I'm hoping Rizor can help us in the scoring department.
"The other two sophomores saw just a little bit of varsity time last year, not a whole lot, but they've matured over the summer, maturing during the early fall here and I expect them to play really well here, one of them being Macayda Irvin. She will be the other big. I hope for her to score down low a little bit. And she should be a pretty good rebounder for us. She's around 5-9, 5-10 somewhere in there. I expect her to pick that up. The other one, I'll probably do a rotation from my five between Mallory Mays, and Maddie Murphy. Two guards who will play the wing. I expect a little defense out of them, hopefully just a few points here and there - kind of role players for me."
Patton and company have a limited number of options off the bench as he only had 12 girls come out this season, leaving him hoping that he can get through a season healthy.
Patton is also hoping to crank up the intensity on the defensive end, forcing the opposition into turnovers and coming away with steals.
"I'd like for us to play solid defense this year, force some turnovers and help keep the point totals low since scoring might be an issue, especially early on for us."
In the Greater Egyptian Conference race, Patton would like nothing more than a repeat performance, but also knows that with Co-MVP Haley Chubb back at Gallatin County, the Hawks will be a contender as well.
"They return three of their five starters from last year and they're a well coached ball club as well," Patton said. "The team that I think is a wild card in the conference is Pope County. They return a few starters and have a new coach and could be a factor in the conference race as well."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
Galatia Basketball
<p><strong>Coach:</strong> Drake Patton<br />Last Year: 7-17<br /><strong>Who’s Gone:</strong> Elizabeth Sloan (18.2 ppg), Shelby Beckman (2.1 ppg).<br /><strong>Who’s Back:</strong> Becky Gregory (12.3 ppg), Kassidy Rizor (8.4 ppg), Kennedy Harris (4.6 ppg)<br /><strong>Stat Opponents Should Fear:</strong> Solid D - Patton is hoping for his Bearcats to force the turnover and keep the point total low for the opponent this season.<br /><strong>Stat That Needs Improvement:</strong> Team Turnovers/Point Totals - Patton lost a combined 20 points per game last year, he’s hoping to make that up from all the girls in his lineup.<br /><strong>Team To Beat in Conference:</strong> Gallatin County - The Hawks return three of their five starters, one of which being the Co-MVP of the GEC last year.</p>
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<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Roster</span></strong></p>
<p>No. Name Class Height<br />25 Kassidy Rizor Jr. 5-9<br />04 Kennedy Harris So. 5-5<br />05 Emma Reagan Jr. 5-3<br />11 Mallory Mays So. 5-5<br />33 Kailey Fox Jr. 5-5<br />35 Miranda Miller Jr. 5-10<br />15 Makayda Irvin So. 5-10<br />13 Reanna Gallamore Jr. 5-3<br />10 Maddy Murphy So. 5-5<br />50 Kelsi Watson Jr. 5-9<br />22 Sara Simpson Jr. 5-4<br />03 Becky Gregory Sr. 5-5<br />40 Carli Steiner Jr. 5-4</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Schedule</strong></span></p>
<p>Nov. 18 at Harrisburg 6<br />Nov. 23 at Lady Fox Invitational TBA<br />Dec. 2 HARRISBURG 6<br />Dec. 3 at Pope County 6<br />Dec. 7 GALLATIN COUNTY 6<br />Dec. 9 at Woodlawn 6:15<br />Dec. 10 WEBBER TOWNSHIP 6:15<br />Dec. 14 HAMILTON COUNTY 6<br />Jan. 4 ELDORADO 6<br />Jan. 7 POPE COUNTY 6<br />Jan. 14 at Gallatin County 6<br />Jan. 18 at Wayne City 5 <br />Jan. 25 at Webber Township 6:15<br />Feb. 1 at GEC Conf.Tournament TBA</p>