CENTER GROVE (4A, 22-4) – Kevin Stuckmeyer, 46-12, in third season as head coach… reigning county and sectional champs … graduated co-county players of year Ella Thompson and Emma Utterback … five returnees must switch from role players to leaders: twin seniors 5-8 Emily Rake and 5-9 Claire Rake, 5-7 classmates Ashley Eck and Alainna Frankel, and 5-10 junior center Mary Wilson … C. Rake, 30 points, tied program record with eight 3s in rout of Warren Central, 62-19 … juniors Aili Lothamer and 5-8 Emily McWilliams top newcomers … depth comes from 5-11 junior Kaylee Carter and freshmen Ella Hobson, Emily Karr, Kaho Takeda and Lindsey Walker … off to a 3-1 start, including upset of Hamilton Southeastern … unique blend of veterans and newcomers… county tourney first hurdle this week.
Coach’s comments: “I think we have a fantastic group of seniors who are close-knit and great teammates. Our togetherness is at a high level. They really realize it’s time for them to step from their junior-sophomore year to the next year. They know it’s their team now, so to be successful they have to ‘up’ their game. We’re still in transition, but we will be a more balanced team. We are seven-deep at this point and our freshmen need a lot of experience. We will need them to fill in certain roles. This (varsity) is a big leap for them. We can compete at a very high level, if we bring it mentally, with a focus, competitiveness and attention to detail. If we are locked in and ready to play, we can compete at a high level against a lot of teams on our schedule. We don’t have much room for error.”
Coach’s comments: “I think we have a fantastic group of seniors who are close-knit and great teammates. Our togetherness is at a high level. They really realize it’s time for them to step from their junior-sophomore year to the next year. They know it’s their team now, so to be successful they have to ‘up’ their game. We’re still in transition, but we will be a more balanced team. We are seven-deep at this point and our freshmen need a lot of experience. We will need them to fill in certain roles. This (varsity) is a big leap for them. We can compete at a very high level, if we bring it mentally, with a focus, competitiveness and attention to detail. If we are locked in and ready to play, we can compete at a high level against a lot of teams on our schedule. We don’t have much room for error.”
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