Shawn Chafin, Agent 1487 W. Keiser Ave. Osceola, AR 72370 870-563-6695 www. shawnchafin. com
The Manila Lady Lions enjoyed a highly successful 2024-2025 season finishing 29-7 and capturing a conference title, a district tournament crown, and a regional tournament championship before falling in the quarterfinals of the 3A State Tournament. With only losing one senior, Coach Chad LaRose and the Lady Lions are looking for another great run through 2025-2026. Two All-State guards return to the Manila starting lineup. Senior Hadlie Goodson is back after averaging 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and two steals a game for the black and gold. Goodson does a lot of the ball handling, showcasing good vision while knocking down shots from deep. Junior Lucy Farmer is a two year starter who averaged 14.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.6 steals a night. Farmer has shown she can score from anywhere on the floor and is smooth in transition. Senior Madysen Deeds returns to the starting lineup for the third year in a row after averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest. Coach LaRose said her stats may have dipped last season, only because she draws so much attention in the post with double teams. He is looking for a bounce back year, so to speak, for Deeds. Chloe Helms is another senior three year starter. Helms brings energy and heart to the floor, and does the things that don’ t always show up on stat sheets. Madison Tune is another Lady Lion with starting experience. Coach LaRose tabs her as the best defender on the team with a high motor. Tune has great vision and an outside touch to bring even more depth to a loaded backcourt. Bailey Wilson is a smooth shooting lefty with a quick shot that can get hot and change games from the perimeter. Addison Stabbs provides depth inside and out with her versatility. Stabbs proved big, knocking down big shots in last year’ s regional tournament. Coach LaRose knows what he has, but isn’ t taking anything for granted.“ We need to stay healthy,” he said.“ We already have a few battling injuries. Also, we just need to get through the regional first round. Everyone knows it is probably the toughest all around region. We will rely heavily on our senior leadership and experience. We have always been the " young " team, but not anymore. We have 8-9 players with a lot of senior high minutes. We also have a good sophomore class that has stepped in and made practices competitive. I feel this could be our most complete team since I took over.” The Manila Lady Lions should be the favorite in the 3A-3 once again, and, like Coach LaRose said, if they can get out of a brutal region, will have a chance to make a run to Hot Springs. With the talent and depth, they have coming back, Manila could be cutting down nets in March.
The Manila Lions finished last season 12-17 falling just short of a regional berth. Coach Heath Matheny will look to three returning starters and a cast of young sophomores that went undefeated in junior high to get them back to the postseason. Senior Carson Baltimore returns after an All-Conference campaign averaging 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists a game last season. Baltimore is a three year starter that is a tremendous outside shooter. Fellow seniors Hudson Harrison and Andrew Evers also return to provide leadership on the floor. Harrison split time starting and coming off the bench last season but still had four points and four assists a game. He’ s a good athlete who plays with high energy and will draw the opposing team’ s best player defensively most nights. Evers also cracked the starting lineup some last season averaging seven points and three rebounds a night. He has shown great improvement over the off season and will try to expand his role his senior season. Juniors Bently Winston, Wesley Jones, and Eli Tomblin will look to provide some depth for Coach Metheny and the Lions. Sophomores Espn Burrow, Noel Salomon, and Hutch Duclos will make immediate impacts after going undefeated in junior high. Burrow is a strong guard that saw some time in the postseason after moving up to senior high. Coach Metheny says what his team lacks in size, makes up in other areas.“ We are guard heavy,” he said.“ I feel like we can shoot the ball extremely well, but we have to find other ways to score when the three ball is not falling. We have to limit turnovers and find ways to create turnovers to gain advantage in the possession category. I would say our weakness or point of emphasis is rebounding. We lost most of our rebounding to seniors graduating. We are not very big this year, so we have to find ways to compete on the glass every night and limit offensive rebounds for opponents.” The 3A-3 will once again be as tough as it gets at the top, but look for the Manila Lions to claw their way to some victories and compete to return to the regional tournament.
Shawn Chafin, Agent 1487 W. Keiser Ave. Osceola, AR 72370 870-563-6695 www. shawnchafin. com
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