Prep Girls Hoops: Eagles hope to fly high with returning experience
Granted Scott Artman lost a major player in his program last year when Paige Zertuche graduated, but the core that the second year Eldorado head coach has coming back, left him no choice than to raise the expectation bar pretty high.
"Coming back, we have a lot of experienced kids coming in and I kind of set the bar a little bit high for them this year. I have a lot of expectations for them and I think this will be a lot better year than we had last year."
If he was at the poker table, Artman would be pushing in all his chips on a trio of seniors that he makes no lies about having to count on this year.
"Jaqlyn (Artman), Abby (Steed) and Caitlin (Stafford) are going to be the three that we depend on night in and night out. Brooklynn (Peavler) who is my fourth senior doesn't have a lot of varsity expereience, but she's been stepping up and has been playing pretty well so far in practice. I'm excited to see what the growth of our sophomores is going to be."
Gone is Zertuche's 16 points per game, but back in Steed, who averaged 12 points per game a year ago with Artman at 10 and Stafford at 8 and Artman believes that filling Zertuche's shoes will be a tall task. He does believe his team could be better offensively.
"Offensively we lost a lot in (Paige) Zertuche last year with that outside shot - I'm not going to lie to you," Artman said. "We have a lot of ground to make up on that, but with the trio that I've got coming back I think we can spread it around the floor a little bit better than what we did last year. We're going to have some different looks, play inside out, I really expect to see more points on the board this year."
Nothing would make Artman more content than being a Black Diamond Conference contender, but in order for that to become reality, he said the team has to pull together as a team and play good team ball.
"We have to know our roles on the floor," Artman said. "I think that is one area we struggled at last year, but so far in practice I haven't seen any of that. It seems like everybody has accepted their role from last year and have kind of grown into it, so I'm looking for bigger and better things."
Still, Artman expects Fairfield and Carmi to maintain the BDC stronghold until someone can dethrone them.
"Right now, I would have to say the team to beat in the conference is Carmi, just because they have everyone back. "But then there is Fairfield and Tonya Conrad. I can't give her enough praise. She is probably the best coach in the conference. She could be the sleeper this year. She's got some kids coming back that have some varsity experience, and she has some young kids coming in. She's got her daughter coming in as a freshman probably going to be one of the better freshmen in the conference - I expect her to play a lot."
Artman knows that his crew could be a load as well, especially with experience being an x-factor.
"I think the strength with these kids is being able to coach them for the last three years. They're coming in and they know what they're preparing for and they have understood the game the way I see it and I'm seeing a lot of things out of these kids that I've taught for the last three years."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
Eldorado Basketball
<p><strong>Coach:</strong> Scott Artman<br /><strong>Last Year:</strong> 16-13<br /><strong>Who’s Gone:</strong> Paige Zertuche (16 ppg), Riley Duckworth.<br /><strong>Who’s Back:</strong> Abby Steed (12 ppg), Jacqlyn Artman (10.5 ppg), Caitlin Stafford (8 ppg).<br /><strong>Stat Opponents Should Fear:</strong> D-Fence: Duckworth may not have lit up the stat sheet, but her presence on defense will be missed. Artman is hoping for someone to step up and do the same this year. Artman does feel he has the ability to hit the boards.<br /><strong>Stat That Needs Improvement:</strong> Nothing Is Free: Making free throws - or the lack there of - has been an early concern for Artman.<br /><strong>Team To Beat in Conference:</strong> Carmi.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Roster</strong></span></p>
<p>No. Name Class Height<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br /></strong></span>4 Caitlin Stafford Sr. 5-6<br />1 Brooklynn Peavler Sr. 5-6<br />12 Abby Steed Sr. 34<br />34 Jacqlyn Artman Sr. 5-10<br />21 Olivia Parker So. 5-8<br />31 Rachel Stafford So. 5-4<br />32 Madison Newton So. 5-8<br />15 Zakiya Britton So. 5-7<br />25 Takiya Britton So. 5-8<br />11 Derian Corn So. 5-9<br />5 Bethany Smith Fr. 5-4<br />0 Karley Mitchell Fr. 5-5<br />35 Jade Hise Fr. 5-7</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Schedule</strong></span></p>
<p>Nov. 19 GOREVILLE 6:15<br />Nov. 23 Carmi-White County* 6<br />Nov. 24 Anna-Jonesboro* 7:30<br />Nov. 27 West Frankfort* 6<br />Nov. 28 Harrisburg* 7:30 <br />Dec. 1 at Gallatin County 6<br />Dec. 3 CARMI-WHITE COUNTY 6:15<br />Dec. 7 POPE COUNTY 6 <br />Dec. 8 UNION COUNTY, Ky. 6:15<br />Dec. 10 at Hamilton County 6:15<br />Dec. 12 at Herrin 6:30 <br />Dec. 14 at Fairfield 6:15<br />Dec. 19 JOHNSTON CITY 1 <br />Jan. 4 at Galatia 6<br />Jan. 7 at West Frankfort 6:15<br />Jan. 14 at Carmi-White County 6:15<br />Jan. 16-23 Eldorado Holiday Tourn TBA <br />Jan. 25 at Johnston City 6:15<br />Jan. 28 HAMILTON COUNTY 6:15 <br />Feb. 1 FAIRFIELD 6:15<br /><br /></p>