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2023-24 GIRLS' BASKETBALL PREVIEWS: South Putnam Eagles
South Putnam started the 2022-23 season around .500 though the first 13 games but seemed to run into the same problems nightly as a young squad took its lumps in a six-game losing streak, the longest in nearly a decade, winning only two of its last 11 games.
The lessons learned will hopefully pay off as the Eagles, while still a young team, have a junior group with plenty of experience being backed by a strong incoming freshman class ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said the junior group, including Danae Cline, Chlara Pistelli, Lilly Emmerich, Lexi Phillips and Madison Gardner, along with senior Joscelyn Pilcher, had started off the season with a different level of intensity.
“It’s been good,” Gardner said. “We have the entire group back from last year minus Kelsey, who gave us some offensive action, but having Danae, Chlara, Madison and Joscelyn means we have a lot of minutes back from last year and you can tell in the first week of practice they know what’s going on.
“They understand the pace and speed of play. We’re ahead of schedule right now offensively and defensively from last year just from the way the girls are practicing.
“We have some freshmen coming in in Lyla Rissler, Mia Wells and Drew (Gardner) that could see some varsity minutes as well as a couple of other returners in Lilah Holderfield and Lexi Phillips,” Gardner added. “That group got the chance to play this summer and meshed well.
“Last year, we would be in games and then there would be two-to-four minute spans where things didn’t go our way, other teams made runs and we were always fighting back from deficits. The girls knowing the speed of the game will help as those runs won’t happen as often this year.”
Pilcher (5.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2 apg) is the only senior on the team and while that might be a burden for some, Gardner said she was not letting it weigh her down.
“Joscelyn does a really good job, not only being a good teammate but also being a vocal leader,” Gardner said about his sole senior. “She’s also not afraid to allow some of the juniors to help with those responsibilities, which is vital as sometimes seniors have that, ‘I’m a senior, I have to be the leader,’ mindset.
“She played with a lot of those girls in volleyball and played well as a junior last year. She works really hard, can be vocal and positive on the floor and brings a lot out of the rest of the group. It’s a big deal for the other girls to see that, feed off of how she does things and I look forward to her being a positive leader and model of how to work hard.”
Juniors Pistelli (10. 2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2 apg), Cline (7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg), Emmerich (3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and Gardner (3.5 ppg, 3 rpg) will anchor the squad to start the season while Phillips and sophomores Lilah Holderfield and Katherine Kempf would be involved in the rotation.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen different from the girls is there’s not a lot of thought so much as there is a lot more instinct to their play,” Gardner said about the improvement in the group from a year ago. “The more they’ve played, the more they understand; the game has slowed down for them and they see things on the floor better.
“Even last year, there were times when the game was very fast for them. In their first year at the varsity level, there were good games and bad games as the speed of the game got away from them.
“They’re also physically stronger and that’s a big factor for this group,” Gardner added. “They’ve played other teams who are physical and practices have a different physicality to them for that reason.
“This group of juniors understands the game better and that tends to lead itself toward making more right decisions.”
The incoming freshman group, including Wells, Rissler, Garner, Tessa Mullin, Joslyn Bumgardner, Kendall Downing and Khloe Pastore, has had plenty of success at the middle school level and while a few would see minutes early, Gardner said the group was going to have to learn quickly if it wanted to help at the varsity level.
“Our freshmen had a really good summer,” Gardner said. “Lilah, Mia and Drew got a chance to play at the D1 Camp against teams like Valparaiso, Penn, etc. and we felt good about that.
“They are girls that can contribute early in a similar way to our juniors at the same age. There are going to be games when they look good and also games where it looks hard for them because of the speed of play. The best help for them is that the junior group has been there before and the intensity they go at in practice is going to help them get used to it.
“There’s no substitute for playing games and early in the year, it’s about who figures things out, who picks up the game quicker and understands the pace of play,” Gardner added. “There are things those girls could get away with in middle school they won’t get away with against juniors and seniors.”
South Putnam opens at home with South Vermillion, Parke Heritage and Edgewood, along with a trip to Cloverdale, before the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament.
Gardner said having home games early would help get the squad into the flow of the season and test how much the team had adapted from the previous season.
“The best part about our schedule is that we’re home to begin with, which is always good, and while we have a road game at Cloverdale, going down the road is not as bad as some other trips,” Gardner said. “Parke Heritage and Edgewood is good for us before County.
“We were road warriors last year and being home early will be beneficial for us. Playing at home is a comfort and helps us get into the heart of the season. The first two games let you see where you’re at because both Parke Heritage and Edgewood are going to be physical teams that do a lot of different things.
“Those early games get us into the thick of the WIC before we end the season with Indian Creek,” Gardner added. “Lots of people say that is a hard game to end on but we like to play those teams that make things hard for us, games like against Sullivan, Monrovia, Speedway and Northview.
“Those games give us a good chance to get ready to play in a sectional atmosphere and we want that feel. We like the way we have a week in January that goes Tuesday, Friday and Saturday to help us with the feel of sectional week.”
Looking to build of the 8-16 record of a year ago, Gardner said the squad wanted to be in the hunt for titles, adding if it maintained the intensity it was showing in the early season, the group had a chance to be where it wanted to come the end of the season.
“Every team wants to win the county, conference and sectional and this group feels that it can compete to do that,” Gardner said. “The one thing with this group is that they are a team that is going to play hard and compete every night.
“Last year, we felt like we had three-to-four minute stretches where we let teams make runs on us and this group has learned from that. The goal is not to let teams have those runs and be in every game.
“If we can do that, we can compete for a county title, have a chance to win a conference title and be there at the end of the sectional,” Gardner added. “If these girls stay healthy and learn quickly, they can give themselves a chance to be in those positions with how hard the play.”