Justice puts young team on the floor
By Dave Morrison for the register-herald
fairlea – West Virginia Gov . Jim Justice recalled recently the many late evenings or nights when he was leaving an event or function via helicopter .
“ I look down there and see those twinkling lights below and I think that there are people there counting on me to get things done in our state ,” Justice said .
As the coach of the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans , he equates those twinkling lights to his players .
“ It ’ s up to our players to give the effort , and I think they will do that , and it is up to us as coaches to have them prepared ,” Justice said .
The brightest star for the Spartans is returning senior and leading scorer ( at over 20 points per game ) Cadence Stewart . Justice said she went over 1,000 for her career late last season and has already committed to Alderson-Broaddus .
“ A lot of the ( recruiting ) pressure is off with her deciding on Alderson-Broaddus and she is going be great there ,” Justice said . “ She had already been a great one for us . She is one of the best players in the state . You are going to see a first-team all-state player when she takes the court . She should have been a first team all-state player last year .
“ She can shoot the ball
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Jenny Harnish / The Register-Herald
Greenbrier East ’ s Cadence Stewart drives to the basket while Woodrow Wilson ’ s Lataja Creasey defends during the Class AAAA Region 3 , Section 2 championship game Feb . 25 in Fairlea .
as well as anyone can . Her knowledge of the game is off the charts high . and she had three years of varsity experience .”
Stewart was the captain of the second-team allstate squad last year .
What is better than one Stewart ? How about two ?
Cadence will be joined in the lineup for the first time this year by Kennedy Stewart , one of several freshmen who will play on one of Justice ’ s youngest Spartan teams .
“ She is an up-tempo type of player , who has a nice shot ,” Justice said . “ The great thing about having Kennedy in our lineup is we can move Cadence back over to the two , which is a better position for her , and it gives us some flexibility out front .”
Another of the branches that extends from the family tree that permeates the Greenbrier East program is Mackenna McClure , another of the freshmen who Justice mentioned . She is the sister of one of the program ’ s most decorated players , Haley McClure , a three-time all-state player for the Spartans . She will be at the three position .
In the front court Justice has a standout in sophomore Caroline Dotson , who missed several games down the stretch with an injury . At the post position will be rebounder and junior Layla Pence . Hannah Fuller should find some time as a 6-foot-3 post .
Obviously , it ’ s a young team among the 11 players roster this season but it doesn ’ t quell Justice ’ s enthusiasm for the team .
“ It probably is one of the youngest teams we ’ ve had here but I feel like there are times when we could have five freshmen on the court ,” Justice said . “ But really and truly these girls are players , and they are going to be really good players . We have shooters , we have girls who can handle the basketball , we have girls who can rebound . It ’ s just a matter of putting it all together . and it is up us as coaches to put it together .”
Justice said his team had a live game scrimmage with Nitro on Nov . 22 and fell 70-69 , but it gave him a chance to see his young charges in action .
“ We made a lot of mistakes , we made a lot of mistakes we can correct , but we saw a lot of positives from our players as well ,” Justice said .
Justice believes his team will grow as the season moves forward .
“ I really think we should be ranked between No . 6 and No . 10 in the state ( in Class AAAA ),” Justice said . “ If we can progress to the level I believe these girls can get to then I think we can be a Top 5 team . But it ’ s going to be hard . We play a tough schedule . I mean , you just look at our section with Woodrow Wilson , Princeton and Oak Hill . and then we play George Washington , which has just an outstanding team ( the Patriots beat Greenbrier East in the Region 3 co-finals last year ), we play John Marshall ( northern panhandle ), Hedgesville ( eastern panhandle , Parkersburg South , St . Albans , Hurricane , Capital .”
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