ROGERS — Rogers High has had to replace almost all of its offensive punch from a year ago, but Lady Mounties coach Preston Early expects the team to contend for the 7A-West Conference championship.
And when you have two players - junior guard Sarah Grace Groves and sophomore forward Taylor Strickland - with Division I potential, there is reason for optimism.
Rogers has compiled a 24-4 conference record the last two seasons while twice reaching the semifinals at the Class 7A Tournament, and Early said he thinks this year’s team has the same potential.
“We have a lot of new faces but we like the makeup of this team,” Early said. “If you lower your goals, your expectations, then you are only pretending to be a program. We want to be knocking on the door. We want to be in the hunt for an opportunity to win a championship.
“Our players have embraced that.”
Groves (5-foot-9) is the lone returning starter and averaged six points and four rebounds a game while being Rogers’ best defender. Strickland averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds for the freshmen team. Early said he expects both players to receive Division I offers by the time they are seniors, if not before.
Strickland (5-10), however, is currently sidelined with a stress fracture in her foot and is wearing a protective boot. But Early expects Strickland to be ready for the season opener and she could even begin practicing again this week.
“Groves is the kind of kid we can hang our hat on,” Early said. “(Groves) is like a floor general for us, and I really like the way she has matured. Taylor is going tobe somebody that we go to and we are going to count on her for production in a lot of diff erent areas.
“I have had one (Division I) coach say that they are going to offer (a scholarship to) Taylor. Taylor has really looked good. She can score.”
But Rogers will be far from a two-player show, although depth could be a problem.
Junior guards Nicole Scott and Lydia Wilkerson have made big improvements in the off season, and guard Madeline Fusillo and forward Jenna Gregory are also expected to fill key roles.
But Rogers’ inexperience is a concern and Early said the team needs to get tougher mentally and physically.
“The thing that we are is that we are a little more complete as a team,” Early said. “We don’t have one kid that can take over a game for us. But I do think we are more versatile and we will be able to score in a few more ways. I think we will be hard to guard.”
Wilkerson is a deadly 3-point shooter who hit some big shots last season at a tournament in Missouri when Morgan Hook, who is now at Oklahoma, was out with an ankle injury.
Sports, Pages 11 on 10/31/2010