By Staff

            INMAN – Looking to bounce back from a season of struggles, the Inman girls basketball program will lean on their defense as they look to get to a winning record and maybe even a berth in the state tournament come March.

            Beginning her second season has the head coach for the Lady Teutons, Megan Heckel is looking for improvement on last season’s 6-15 record that was played with a team that was near entirely made up of underclassmen.

            “Last year the girls improved immensely as the year went on,” explained coach Heckel. “We lost nine games by nine points or less, so we were right there many times. Our defense always did a great job, but we have to do more on offense and that was a struggle last year as we had great shots, but just did not always execute.”

            Among the five key returning players will be Macie Neufeld, a senior guard who made honorable mention all-Heart of America while putting up 9.2 points per game. Fellow senior Kadence Welch will also return to take of business under the basket after grabbing 5.7 rebounds and getting 8.0 points per game a year ago.

            Junior forward Kambrey Woods will be back with her great mid-range jump shot while junior guard Madelyn Brunk will set the standard on defense for the Lady Teutons as a lockdown defender and junior guard Taelyn Friesen is one the coaches claim sees the floor well.

            A pair of talented freshmen that have the coaches excited about being on the court for Inman this season include five-foot-nine guard Kenna Woods who is known for pushing the ball well while seeing the floor for an open teammate, and five-foot-eleven guard/forward Suttyn Harris. Coach Heckel noted that Harris can play any position on the court well and if she can upgrade the basketball lineup like she did the volleyball lineup, then the Lady Teutons will be solid.

            Coach Heckel concluded her pre-season reflections by saying, “I am excited for this season to begin as we had a lot of improvement last year that carried into our summer workouts. Our strengths will be our defense as we were consistent last year while we will have to be more consistent with our offense. We have to find the open shots where we want them and then need to execute and score.”

            The Lady Teutons will open the 2022-23 season on the road at Minneapolis on Friday, December 2 before getting their home debut on Tuesday, December 6 when they will host Hillsboro.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)