BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle
CANEY — Don’t tell Tom Nelson, the head coach of the Caney Valley High School women’s basketball team, that the 2008-09 edition of the Lady Bullpups are incapable of making waves this season.
He’ll tell you otherwise.
Granted, Nelson has the smallest roster of players he’s ever seen in his 16 years as the Bullpup skipper. And, he’ll also admit that the bulk of his roster is filled with freshmen and sophomores.
Yet, with a largely green team, Nelson says he believes the small-but-mighty Lady Bullpups can make a run with the big dogs of the Tri-Valley League.
“We never count our team out of the Tri-Valley League hunt,” said Nelson, whose team opens the 2008-09 campaign at Fredonia on Friday, Dec. 5. “We always believe we have a chance.”
That optimistic approach will be needed for the Lady Bullpups, who return only one starter from last season. However, that returning player is all-everything Morgan Rolls, a senior point guard who gained a bevy of all-league and all-state honors during her junior season. The scrappy Rolls, a 5-foot-3 point guard, averaged 18.8 points per game last year and had 4.4 assists and 3.9 steals in her third season as a Bullpup lettermen.
Joining Rolls on the senior list is a new face to the Caney Valley program. Lindsey Sims will wear red and blue threads after transferring to Caney Valley from the Sedan High School program. As a member of the Blue Devil team last year, Sims averaged 6.9 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per contest, and had 2.9 steals.
“Anytime you have a player like Morgan on the floor, you feel the chances of you being good are high,” said Nelson. “Lindsey Sims has transferred to Caney with a lot of varsity experience, so we are excited to have her here, and I feel she’ll be a solid player for our team.”
Only one junior is on the Lady Bullpup roster. Paige Chaffin, a 5-foot-7 guard, saw limited varsity time last year but could see ample minutes during the 2008-09 season.
Among a hefty crew of sophomores is Kati Hiner, a 5-foot-9 post who averaged 3.7 points per game but pulled down 4.1 rebounds in her rookie season. McKenzie Rolls is another sophomore who grabbed a few minutes in the varsity ranks during her freshmen year but could be among the scoring supporters this year.
Also listed on the roster from the sophomore class are Rachel Estes, Melanie Davis, and Laynee Davidson, all guards, and Paige Cunningham and Mercades Price, both of whom will play in the post positions.
On the freshmen list are five guards, including Taylor Crowe, Jessica Cowan, Madison Nunneley, Jessica Dressler and Kayla Clapp.
Nelson said losing six stellar players to graduation (Abby Walls, Jennifer Russell, Amber Long, Samantha Hooper, Nikki Clapp and Molly Robbins) put a crimp in the program. However, he also said the team was capable of being a solid squad as the season progresses.
“We have many young players who are unproven at the varsity level and will have to step up and contribute in many ways,” he said. “Our improvement gap is large right now, and as I always believe: if the girls are willing to work hard in every situation and in every minute of practice and game time as hard as they can, good things will happen. If they focus and really do that, we will improve with each game.”
