For the second year in a row the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Lady Bears under Coach Linda Riddick reached the post season. Making it three in a row is going to be tougher for the Lady Bears because of graduation.
Coach Riddick lost ten seniors to graduation, but still has some talented young ladies to put on the court this season for Little Cypress-Mauriceville. The leaders back from last season’s varsity will be senior Alyssa McKellar, Renna Toomey a sophomore, and junior Jacie Miller who was pulled up from the junior varsity for the playoffs. Riddick says all three are real strong leaders both on and off the court.
The bench will be composed of young ladies in their first year on the varsity. Coming up from last year’s junior varsity for LC-M are Kilon Gillis, Madeline Garrison, Kayla Dominguez, Lydia Covington, Asjah Harper-Kelly, and Karly Rogers. Riddick also has two freshmen on the Lady Bears’ roster Chelsea Perry and Genesis Barclay.
Providing inspiration on the bench is Ally White. She missed last season because of a torn ACL while playing volleyball. This year Ally played in one game and a couple of practices before tearing the other ACL. Riddick says White is always hustling and working hard. She promises Ally will make sure the other Lady Bears perform with that same intensity on the hard court.
Experience will be picked up on the hardwood this year for the Lady Bears. Riddick recapping the start of the season indicates there have been some growing pains early on because of the team’s inexperience. Coach Riddick is encouraged, “They’re very competitive and they’re hard workers. They practice every day, we go over film, and they watch what they’ve done wrong and they’re making up for it.”
Some may take LC-M lightly this year in district because of its inexperience. Coach Riddick believes any one that thinks the Lady Bears will not compete for the district title again will be sadly mistaken. The coach’s expectations are high especially taking into consideration that four of the six teams in the district have new head coaches. Riddick predicts, “It’s going to be an interesting race, and I think just like last year it’s going to come down to a battle every night.”
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Last season brought an end to the very successful run of Coach Darin Harley at Little Cypress-Mauriceville. Fifteen wins including a play-in game that put the Bears in the playoffs last season was still a bit of a disappointment for the Little Cypress-Mauriceville program.
Brad Jeffcoat takes over as the head coach of the Bears this season, and he has a number of players coming back for LC-M. Topping the list is Katon Brown a junior who led the Bears in scoring last season averaging a double-double. Brown will be moved out to the wing where more is expected of him, and he should have a great year according to the coach. At point guard Ayson Simmons has been on the varsity for three years. Jeffcoat thinks he will be a pleasant surprise for LC-M fans this year and is a joy to coach.
Also playing a lot last season and returning is Keegan Sonnier. Braden Bridges is just a sophomore, but is shooting the ball well for the Bears and is a competitor. LC-M has more depth this season and looks to play 12 to 13 players a game. Jeffcoat states, “Big change for us, but a good problem to have.”
Coach Jeffcoat looks to have a long bench for the Bears and shares some of the players coming up to the varsity. LC-M had a really good junior varsity last year and many of those players are moving up to the varsity. Ty’Reke Brown will back up Simmons at point guard. Mark Netherly and Christian Weatherly are both phenomenal athletes and will help the Bears a lot. Jeffcoat adds, “We’ve got a lot coming up and a lot to be excited about.”
LC-M has opened the basketball season, and Jeffcoat provides a recap of the early season action for the Bears. Through three games the Bears were 2-1 with wins at Port Neches-Groves and Vidor as well as a loss at home to Nederland. Jeffcoat analyzes, “We’re playing hard right now, but kind of like early season always goes we’re not playing well. Shots aren’t really falling, and that’s something we’ve got to work on. We’ve got to get turned around because we’ve got to score a lot more than we’ve done so far.”
A new head coach and a new style of play are included this season for the Bears. Coach Jeffcoat gives his expectations for LC-M as another trip to the playoffs. Jeffcoat sets the goals for the LC-M Bears this season as 20 or more wins and a trip to at least the third round of the playoffs.
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