clear fork – Westside coach Darren Thomas has been waiting for his young players to step up . He is hoping this is the year .

Just two seasons removed from a trip to the Class AA state tournament and a loss to Sissonville in what was the last day of sports in West Virginia due to Covid , Thomas still has a youthful team , but one that is making strides .

“ We ’ ve been so overmatched the last couple of seasons in our region and in the area going up against PikeView , Shady Spring , Wyoming East ,” Thomas said . “ I ’ m hoping that with some of these girls being juniors , they are ready to take a step . They looked stronger coming back . We did some good things last year but my goodness , we struggled scoring points .”

Indeed , the Renegades averaged just 35.8 points per game and nine of the teams 14 losses came by 20 or more points . Westside was 2-14 last year and both wins were against sectional foe Independence . It should be noted that while the Westside boys returned to Class AA this season the girl ’ s program has elected to remain Class AAA .

The season fortunes of the Renegades this year will rest on the improvement and play of three juniors who have gone through the rigors of learning on the fly

at the varsity level .

Kaitlyn Lester , Daisha Cline and McKenzie Morgan all return to the fold with experience after taking their lumps as freshmen and sophomores .

Morgan is the point guard , and she has the most experience of the trio , getting thrown into the fire early as a freshman .

“ We threw Kenzie in there early and she was a 14-yearold kid going against the likes of Perdue at PikeView , all those seniors that Shady has and then the group that Angie has at Wyoming East , so it was tough ,” Thomas said . “ You get beat to death on some nights , it can be humbling but you can also get better .”

Her role will be primarily of a prototypical point guard , Thomas said .

“ If Kenzie can get us set up in our offense that would be big , and she won ’ t have to worry about carrying a scoring load ,” Thomas said . “ She can score if she needs to , but running the show , getting us in our offense , is the first thing we need her to do .

“ We aren ’ t tall , but Daisha has been a good rebounder . and Kaitlyn had a great volleyball season , and we will be expecting more from her this season as well . Like they

say , you don ’ t know until you play but I like the attitude coming in from these girls , and they are going to lead us .”

The team does have two seniors , Addie Lusk and Ryleigh McNeely . McNeely is the last member of the state tournament team on the roster .

“ Ryleigh has looked better running the floor this year and she has added a nice 10- to 12-foot jump shot to her game ,” Thomas said . “ Addie ( at 5-foot-10 ) will be playing in the post for us .”

Although more experienced than in the past , a couple of freshmen could very well see their way into the lineup , or at least in the rotation , at some point this season , Rylee Brown and Kendall Lusk . Lusk was a member of the cross-country team and was ranked in the area for a portion of the season . Her athletic ability has her in line to make an early contribution , Thomas said . Kesiha Holstein , another 5-10 senior will also be in the post for the Renegades .

“ I really like this bunch , but we need to learn to score ,” Thomas said . “ There were times last year when if we got to 30 points it was doing something . The girls tried . But a lot of times it

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was four freshmen or sophomores and ( graduated senior ) Shyan ( Jenkins ) out there and sometimes it was like being thrown to the wolves . But they have come back , and I think they are a lot more determined to be a better team this year . All you can ask for us effort .”

The expectations are for improvement , Thomas said .

“ I ’ m hoping because we have those juniors who have played , we can be a shot at getting to . 500 ,” Thomas said . First , we have to get through those first 10-12 games and see what we ’ ve got and make adjustments for those last 10 . We want to be in a better position when we go into the postseason .”

Staying in the same classification , region and section means that the Renegades will have to go through the PikeViews and Hoovers of the basketball world . The Renegades open the season with section rival Shady Spring , a good test , then they will trek North later in the month to Grafton and East Fairmont , returning the trip those teams made south last season .

“ If we find that scoring , I think we will be a competitive team against most of the teams we play ,” Thomas said .

WV SOUTH BASKETBALL • ⁴⁹