Meadow Bridge Girls
Meadow Bridge Girls
Wildcats seek to sustain last year ’ s momentum
By Steve Keenan the fayette tribune
For the first time in a few years , Meadow Bridge girls coach Steve Taylor will have to reload fairly significantly .
The veteran coach said goodbye to four productive seniors ( two starters ), including floor leader Charity Reichard , to graduation , and he now must fill some holes as the 2024-25 campaign looms .
The cupboard ’ s not bare , though , as Taylor welcomes back a very solid senior , guard / forward Kierston Rozell , and other experienced players who will help the team seek success .
The Wildcats lost Reichard , who was “ our coach on the floor ,” Sierra Simmons , Abigail Cooper and Amber Stickler from a team that went 13-11 and advanced to the Region 3 co-finals last year before losing 72-24 to James Monroe .
Taylor is upbeat as the season approaches . “ We ’ ve had a great ( first ) week of practice ,” he said . “ Lots of conditioning .
“ I ’ m old school . We got the medicine balls and jump ropes out , and ( did ) sprints . We got a good start this week .”
Rozell had to sit out the first seven games of last season because of injury , but she eventually settled in and averaged about 16 points per game . Rozell ’ s currently about 200 points away from the 1,000-point career scoring plateau . “ She had a great summer ,” said Taylor . “ She ’ s going to score a lot . She ’ s a good outside shooter , but I ’ d like to see her go to the rim a little more .
Jenny Harnish / The Register-Herald
Meadow Bridge ’ s Riley Roberts tries to pass around Greenbrier West ’ s Brilee Redden during the Class A Region 3 , Section 2 championship game in Charmco .
“ She ’ s a good athlete and a great kid .”
Last year ’ s sixth man as a sophomore , Lilyan Hayes “ could have started ,” Taylor said . “ She ’ s going to step right in at the point .
“ She ’ s a very good shooter . She ’ s not a pure point guard , but she ’ ll have to play that role .”
A three-year starter in the post , senior Kaitlin
Cooper , is back for her final go-round . “ We ’ re expecting a little more scoring from her ,” Taylor said .
Another player prepping for her fourth year in the starting unit is Riley Roberts . “ Riley does a lot of the dirty work and is capable of scoring ,” her coach said .
Junior Keira Hanshew “ can fill that other spot in the low post and wing ,” Taylor said . “ She had a good summer . She can run up and down the floor and is very athletic .”
Sophomore post player Laycee Conway “ may be one of most improved players .” Conway will be the first off the bench to spell Cooper .
Others expected to provide contributions include Mackenzie Phillips , Kyndal Gilkeson and Asiya Gray , and freshman Dixie Ward is the lone player incoming from the middle school ranks .
“ We ’ re going to be about 10-strong ,” said Taylor . “ We ’ ve got a pretty good 5 ; we just need to get some good production off the bench .”
The Wildcats opened up the campaign on Dec . 5 at home against Liberty . Among the new foes on the schedule is Man . “ We ’ ve got a pretty healthy schedule for us ,” said Taylor , who is assisted by Charlie Redden and Seth Tabor .
Taylor hopes to see the success from last year continue into 2024-25 . “ When we got everybody healthy ( last year ), we ran off some wins ,” he said . “ We had a very good season .”
He is in his 28th season as the girls head coach , and his teams have logged an overall record of 318-199 .
Email : skeenan @ registerherald . com ; follow on
Facebook Follow on Twitter @ gb _ scribe
WV SOUTH BASKETBALL • 25