 | | ANDREW MATHESON/CENTRAL OREGONIAN | | Sami Verity (left) and Sydney Waite scrimmage during a recent practice at the Crook County High School gymnasium. |
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Crook County High School girls basketball coach Kurt Sloper says the Intermountain Conference could be, top to bottom, the toughest conference in the state.
After the Cowgirls finished with a 7-9 conference record last year, good enough for fifth place in the IMC - just one spot out of postseason play - Sloper has the team thinking playoffs.
When asked what the team's goals are for the upcoming season, Sloper replied, "continual improvement.
"We want to play in March and if we can emphasize continual improvement among our players and our team, we can go to the playoffs, and we think we have an excellent chance of obtaining that goal."
With seven players returning from last year's varsity squad, Sloper says the team has looked much-improved in the off-season. Additionally, Sloper said the team was able to play up some junior varsity players last year, and although they may be young - Cassey Hehn is the lone senior - the Cowgirls are experienced at the varsity level.
"We're a young team, but I think we're young and talented," Sloper said. "With the improvement our girls have made, I believe we'll challenge those teams for those (playoff) spots."
The Cowgirls will be using an up-tempo strategy they employed last season. This year, however, Sloper says to expect a game that is a little bit faster.
"We're definitely not the tallest in the conference, but we have athletes," Sloper said. "We want to get out and push the ball. Not run and gun, but run to create shots and create a fast-paced game where the other team has to play up to our tempo."
Eagle Point will be the first team to get a taste of that fast-paced game this Friday at CCHS. After that, however, the Cowgirls will be on the road for all of December, returning home on January 5, 2007, in their IMC opener against Hermiston.
"In the end, it will have a positive effect," Sloper said about the Cowgirls' month on the road, which includes away games at Redmond, Mazama, Klamath Union, Hillsboro and the Marshfield Tournament. "Going on the road, I think it will help us in terms of league. It's tough on the players but we are also going up against some excellent competition in the preseason."
With a difficult non-conference schedule, and playing in the tough IMC, Sloper believes that the team that comes prepared each game to play will win. With Redmond - a team that has qualified for the state playoffs five of the last seven years - being replaced by Madras, Sloper calls it a wash. And with playoff qualifier Mountain View returning a full team, along with qualifiers Bend, Hermiston and Pendleton, "our league is tough no matter who you play."
When asked if the new district alignments will have any effect on the league, Sloper said, "I'm not sure it changes anything. We need to worry about living up to our own expectations and not the other teams." |
