Caldwell County’s girls are looking to surprise people despite a mostly-young lineup this season.
The Lady Tigers return just one senior starter from last year’s 8-12 squad and lost their top two scorers — and three of their five scorers — to graduation.
But Caldwell is hopeful that some youngsters grow into contributors and that, by season’s end, the Lady Tigers will be in the mix in the 7th District and can make some noise in the 2nd Region as well.
“I think it’s going to be fine,” said Lady Tiger head coach Chuck Mitchell, who begins his third season at Caldwell. “I love these girls, they work hard every day.”
But the trick in 2021-22 will be finding the most productive lineup.
“First of all, you’ve got to get the right group in there at the right time,” said Mitchell. “And that’s what we’ve been trying to do at practice. We’ve really got a seven-man rotation, and they’re all small, they’re not big, except for Katy (Smiley). And Katy plays all five positions, so we’ve just got to get consistent at knowing what we bring to the table at certain positions.”
Senior Parris Gray is the top returning scorer at 7.2 points a game after Jacey Jaggers (16.0 points) and Majah Hollowell (9.4) were lost to graduation.
Gray not only moves into a leadership role on the team, but will be counted on for increased production in points and rebounds.
Smiley, a 5-foot-11 freshman, is in that same boat after getting 5.8 points and 2.4 boards a game last year. Despite her youth, Smiley will be a key component in several aspects, as she will need to not only score and rebound, but help handle the ball as well, plus be a factor at the defensive end with her height and length.
Rebounding will be important this season after Caldwell graduated its top four players in that department from last year, including top rebounder Karsyn Parker (8.1 boards a game).
Juniors A.J. Hollowell and Presley McKinney will also be in the mix and have previous starting experience. Their scoring opportunities were limited last season, at 3.8 points and 1.5 points a game, respectively, but both can shoot and could be poised to put up bigger numbers this season. They are the only two juniors on the squad.
Freshman Brylee Butts could also fit that bill this season as well.
Morgan Aikins, another freshman, will see action at the point guard spot.
Sophomores Maci Tyler, Jordan Ortt and Jakhia Copeland could all see playing time while senior Ky Boyd adds depth to the roster along with freshman Nyla Sykes.
Caldwell also thinks it has some talented middle schoolers who could challenge for playing time once the middle school season ends and those players join the high school squad.
Defending champion Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins will be Caldwell’s biggest obstacles in the 7th District this season.
Caldwell hopes to challenge in the regional All A Classic, where defending champion Crittenden County and Lyon County both look to be strong this year.
The Lady Tigers’ regular-season schedule is highlighted by the West Kentucky Hoops Classic, which Caldwell will host Dec. 27-28, along with the Murray Bank Hardwood Classic at Calloway County on Dec. 23.
Caldwell’s girls open the 2021-22 campaign at home on Monday against Whitesville Trinity of the 3rd Region.
