GIRLS' PREVIEWS: Veteran Clovers ready to take that next step forward

Saturday, October 27, 2018
Sammie Shrum brings the ball upcourt in the county tournament last year.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

Cloverdale returns three veteran starters and is looking for other younger players to step up as the Clovers hope to improve on last year’s 17-6 record.

Senior Tori Combs, who was the Banner Graphic Player of the Year as a sophomore, produced another double-double season with 14.0 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.

Also returning are all-county junior Sammie Shrum, who had a breakout season with a 12.4 scoring average, along with 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.9 steals per game.

Another returner is junior guard Hailey Thomas, who averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Combs is one of only two seniors on the roster, but opponents will think Shrum and Thomas have been there longer than four years.

“They have all been around for a long time, and we will definitely be looking to them for leadership,” coach Matthew Langdon said. “It’s nice to have such experienced players.”

Looking to fill in some of the gaps, notably to replace graduated all-county guard Abby Walker, will be juniors Kassie Wade, Lakkain Price and Madison Shoemaker.

Walker, who now plays for Manchester University, hit a team-high 69 3-pointers last year — more than the rest of the roster combined.

“There’s no way to make up for that kind of shooting with any one player, and it has to be a collective effort,” Langdon said. “Kassie is ready to step in and be that spot-up shooter for us, with the bigs looking to kick the ball outside. She can help keep defenses honest.

“Shrum and Thomas have also improved their shooting, and we have gotten better as a team in shooting the ball,” Langdon added. “Lakkain is a good hustle player for us, and will also have a bigger role in a bigger lineup this year. We have played four guards a lot in the past, but we will have more size out there this year. Madison is someone who has been on the varsity for a couple of years, but hasn’t been in the rotation. She will be a key asset for us off the bench in a three-man rotation with Combs and Price.”

Point guard is a position that is also needing to have the same kind of group effort to run the show and distribute the ball.

“We started to transition last year, where we wanted to get Hailey a break there and get her some more scoring opportunities,” Langdon said. “Sammie ran the point an little bit last year, and she feels very comfortable there. It benefits us as a team to be able to at times have a two point-guard system. Autumn Lewellen is someone who played all JV last year, but had a great summer and worked her way into being a key bench player this year as a defensive specialist. She’s really smart with the ball.”

Langdon also noted Morgan Trivett and Emily Byford as juniors new to the varsity who will have roles off the bench.

Combs uses her athleticism to outhustle most opposing post players to the ball, and Langdon has enjoyed watching her improvement.

“She came in as a freshman and got thrown right into the mix,” he said. “She made a big impact. Offensively, she has added different aspects every year to her game. This year, being a senior and knowing it’s her last go-around, there are games when she needs to take over. A lot of our girls are ready for that.”

Last year, the Clovers finished fourth in the East Division of the Western Indiana Conference, and won the crossover game to finish in seventh place overall.

They were defeated in the first round of the sectional by Western Boone, and also in the first round of the county tournament by South Putnam.

Langdon noted the team is looking to improve upon all of those finishes this time around.

“If you look across the county, it’s going to be tough again,” Langdon said. “South Putnam lost some key players, but they are always very competitive. North Putnam is making great strides, and Greencastle has a lot of new pieces. Our county is as tough as it’s ever been.”

The Clovers will again be in the Cascade Sectional, which was won last year by South Putnam.

“South and Cascade both lost some key players, but they are always there,” Langdon said. “Western Boone is always going to be good [with Madison Jones], and it’s a tough sectional.

“The conference is also very good again, but a lot of teams lost key players,” he added. “It’s one of the hardest aspects of our goals at the beginning of the year.”

Langdon noted that Owen Valley, Indian Creek and Northview are perennial contenders, besides the county teams, but feels this year he may return more key players than many of the other teams.

The school’s volleyball team, which included Combs, Wade and Thomas, won its half of the conference this year and reached the WIC finals for the first time in school history.

Langdon is hopeful some of that success will continue with his team.

“The last couple of years, it’s been so tough it’s good to just not be last on your side,” he said. “There’s no reason why, if we can’t play well on the right nights, that we can’t put ourselves in a position to be in that championship game for the first time.”

Overall, Langdon has been pleased with how things have gone both in the summer and in preseason practice this fall.

“Practices are going well, and the girls have good intensity coming in,” Langdon said. “We had good numbers this year with 20 players coming out, so we have 10 on the varsity right now and 10 on the junior varsity — which is a good number.”

He likes the positive attitude that his players bring every day.

“That’s what’s great about this team,” Langdon said. “I’ve talked to other coaches and they say that some of their best teams are not always the most fun to be around because of attitudes, but with this group it’s always enjoyable.

“They work well together as a team with little drama, and that’s refreshing to know from day one that you’re going to be able to come in and enjoy the year.”

The Clovers open their season on Tuesday by playing at South Putnam.

2018-19 roster

2018-19 roster

PlayerYr.
Hailey MonroeSr.
Tori CombsSr.
Sammie ShrumJr.
Lakkain PriceJr.
Kassie WadeJr.
Morgan TrivettJr.
Hailey ThomasJr.
Madison ShoemakerJr.
Emily ByfordJr.
Taylor RoyseJr.
Kamrie MonnettJr.
Kamalani LauerJr.
Abby BernardJr.
Aubree BraniganSo.
Autumn LewellenSo.
Chloe SprinkleFr.
Ikea CalidonioFr.
Audrie FulkersonFr.
Veronica CarterFr.
Ella RightmyerFr.
Sydney WillisFr.

Coach: Matthew Langdon

2017-18 results (17-6)

at Turkey Run, W 85-20

at Riverton Parke, W 65-34

North Central, W 89-56

Shakamak, W 81-30

at South Putnam, L 50-55

North Putnam, W 57-27

at Eastern Greene, W 74-17

at North Putnam, W 61-22

at Edgewood, W 54-29

at Indian Creek, L 49-36

Brown County, W 51-48

Greencastle, W 55-35

Covington, W 49-37

South Newton, W 57-40

Clay City, W 54-52

Owen Valley, L 55-31

West Vigo, W 52-25

Cascade, L 79-73 (2OT)

Sullivan, W 54-42

at Rockville, W 39-36

South Putnam, L 61-45

Sectional

Western Boone, L 56-50

2018-19 schedule

(Game times 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise)

Oct. 30 – at South Putnam

Nov. 2 – Riverton Parke

Nov. 6 – at Clay City

Nov. 10 – at Shakamak

Nov. 16 – at South Putnam in county tourney

Nov. 20 – Terre Haute South, 6 p.m.

Nov. 27 – North Putnam

Nov. 30 – Edgewood, 6 p.m.

Dec. 7 – Indian Creek, 6 p.m.

Dec. 14 – at Brown County, 6 p.m.

Dec. 18 – at Greencastle

Dec. 28-29 – Eastern Greene tournament

Jan. 4 – at Owen Valley, 6 p.m.

Jan. 5 – Northview, 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 8 – at West Vigo

Jan. 11 – at Cascade 6 p.m.

Jan. 15 – Parke Heritage

Jan. 18 – WIC crossover (A)

Jan. 22 – Terre Haute North