Flying Eagles have a new dynamic duo
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
Last year Brian Nabors had a dynamic senior front court duo in Olivia Ziolkowski and Adrienna Law .
This year Nabors believes he has an equally impressive backcourt dynamic duo in sophomore Abby Dillon and senior Lataja Creasey
“ Abby has that gym rat mentality , she ’ s got an old-school work ethic ,” Nabors said . “ During volleyball ( season ) she would either come in before practice and get a workout or after she would get a workout . I don ’ t want to put a lot of pressure on her , but I think she is one of the best guards in the state , her and Lataja Creasey .
“ They are a dynamic duo . If we can just stay healthy , I think they will be a great combination , a one-two punch for us .
“( Creasey ) has great leadership skills ,” Nabor continued . “ She will be one of our best on-ball defenders . She is looking to prove a lot throughout the state . I think a lot of teams don ’ t have faith in her , they don ’ t think she can get it done . Just watch out . I think you ’ re going to see great things out of Lataja Creasey really soon .”
Nabors has talented seniors and young players
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Tina Laney / For The Register-Herald
Abby Dillon of Woodrow Wilson goes for the basket against University at the New River CTC Jan . 8 in Beckley .
throughout the lineup .
Sophomore Josie Cross returns after an impressive freshman season .
“ We are expecting her to play more of an intricate role as far as being a scorer ,” Nabors said . “ We are going to count on her to do more for us this year .”
Leiloni Manns is one of several players returning from injuries . “ She ’ s coming back from a knee injury ,” Nabors said . “ I thought she was playing well last year when she got hurt .”
Others are Abby Humphrey ( who missed almost two years with a back problem ), Sarah Hopkins and Creasey was involved in an off-season car crash but has returned full go .
“ Abby is doing really well after missing two years and I think she can play a significant role ,” Nabors said . “ We lost Sarah Hopkins last year in the Princeton game to a torn ACL and she has come back very well . It ’ s amazing how fast she came back . Her surgery was like seven months ago and she is going full blast . and Lataja , a lot of people don ’ t know , was in a real bad car accident and is trying to get healthy .””
Senior Maddie Belcher , a senior , comes back with experience and leads a group of fine senior players .
“ She played some significant minutes last year for us ,” Nabors said . “ She ’ s a very good shooter .”
Humphrey is a senior along with Creasey , Kalyn Cowger and Taylor Gunter .
Mya Wooten also played a key role down the stretch for Woodrow and returns with experience . Sophomore Lithena Hazelwood will provide depth .
Nabors said that Donya Burton , a freshman , is already progressing to the point she can play some significant minutes and Mia Seiter , Alauna Ellis and Addison Walker are promising freshmen who could provide depth for Woodrow Wilson and possibly provide varsity minutes down the road .
Woodrow finished the season 9-13 but finished 6-3 after a brutal opening schedule to start the season .
The Flying Eagles typically play a demanding schedule , this year is no different . Along with playing in a tough Class AAAA Region 3 , Section 2 with Greenbrier East , Oak Hill and Princeton , the Flying Eagles also face George Washington , Parkersburg South . Parkersburg and Cabell Midland .
“ We didn ’ t meet our ultimate goal , which is to get to the state tournament ,” Nabors said . “ Our other goal , get to the state tournament , We didn ’ t meet either one of those goals . It was disappointing . But how we finished the season I thought showed a lot of character . They didn ’ t quit . I thought that they were winners just from applying the things we expected them to do . We had some distractions that hurt our season , but the girls pulled it together and I thought we finished on a positive note .”
The Flying Eagles seniors are the last players from a team that advanced to the Class AAAA semifinals three years ago in 2020 before Covid shut the door on the season and Nabors still considers it a lost opportunity .
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