Conference Preview 1ADII White Pine Conference
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Kendrick
2. Nez Perce
3. Deary
4. Logos
5. Highland
6. Timberline
7. Summit
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Emily Proctor, Deary
Caitlyn Cronce, Nez Perce
Mya Brown, Kendrick
Megan Brocke, Kendrick
Erin Morgan, Kendrick
Lauren Morgan, Kendrick
Written by Jamey Vinnick
Coming off a 16-4 year last season, it certainly appears this is Kendrick’s conference to lose. Kendrick returns all of their players, highlighted by district first-team players Mya Brown and Lauren Morgan. In addition to Brown and Morgan, Kendrick also brings back Erin Morgan and Drew Stacey to a potent offense.
Seventh-year head coach Ron Ireland is back again with an entire team of weapons at his disposal.
“I’m most excited about or team’s experience and speed. On defense, we are scrappy and on the offensive end, we need to do a better job attacking the gaps,” Ireland said. “We’re hoping to be stronger with a year of maturity.”
Looking to dethrone Kendrick from the top is going to be Nez Perce — led by Caitlyn Cronce — and Deary — led by Emily Proctor.
Another team with the potential to surprise could be the Knights of Logos. Coming off a tough 7-16 year, Logos returns most of its team but did lose a tough post presence in Shawna Cowan and Bea Whiting, who led the team in scoring when healthy. But with second-team all White Pine League guard Kirstin Wambeke, two up and coming players in Sydney Miller and Ameera Wilson and a veteran coach in Patrick Lopez, Logos has a chance to make something happen.
“This is a team that is much more experienced overall than last year even though we have no seniors on the squad,” Lopez said. “We’re going to be deliberate with the ball offensively while also working well in the half-court defensively. We have better ball control and overall much more experience and we hope to be a much-improved shooting team.”
Lopez identified Highland as a potential surprise contender in the conference due to high levels of “participation and energy.”
Highland Head Coach Brett Arnzen is hoping for good results this year, despite losing the hustle of Alyssa Dau and the rebounding prowess of Abby Davis. Despite those losses, Arnzen returns much of his team and is excited about the upcoming 2019-20 season.
“We are a young team, I'm very anxious to find out who we are as a team, how we will respond to different situations,” Davis said. “The girls play hard no matter what. We do not quit regardless of anything. We are scrappers. The resemblance between this year and last is close, but I think this team is quicker than last year's team.”