With all five starters returning to the fold, expectations are high that Livingston Central can win the school’s first girls’ district basketball title in nine years.
While the Lady Cardinals were 10-17 last year, they advanced to the All A Classic region title game and took eventual district champion Crittenden County to the wire in the district semifinals.
Now, Coach Lisa Corley is looking to start checking boxes of achievements for the Lady Cardinal program.
“We have worked diligently this off-season in becoming more confident in our abilities. We have highly talented girls who, last year, lacked the confidence they needed to be successful at the varsity level,” Corley said.
Based on what she’s seen over the summer and the preseason, Corley thinks her team is ready to take the next step.
“Even though we are still young, our experience level has grown and with that, so has our confidence. We have athletes accepting and buying into their role on this team, looking for ways in which they can contribute,” she said.
Sophomore guard Victoria Joiner gives Corley options at several positions after a freshman campaign that saw her score 12 points and grab nine rebounds a game.
Sophomore Maggie Downey returns to run the point and looks to increase her scoring output of 5.6 points a game from last year.
“Victoria Joiner will still look to score but Maggie Downey and Aubrey Leahy will also be looking to score,” Corley said. Leahy, a freshman, averaged 5.4 points and shared the point position with Downey at times last year.
Emersyn Ramage and Hadley Hargrove provide the grit for the Lady Cardinals. Ramage, a sophomore, averaged 6.5 points and eight rebounds while shooting 43 percent from the field.
Hargrove, a freshman, averaged 5.8 points and tied for the team lead in 3-pointers made.
Corley is also high on 7th grader Taylor Leahy who will give the Lady Cardinals key minutes off the bench. She may not be the only middle schooler to see floor time.
“We have six high school players and none older than a sophomore. Several eighth graders and Leahy will be brought up to the varsity team,” she said.
With the experience Corley has returning, she said it’s time for the program to set its sights higher in 2022-23.
“We are setting our sights high. Winning the All A (region) is doable. Competing in district play and winning the 5th district title is doable. Competing in our region is doable. We’re ready to start checking those boxes,” Corley said.
Livingston Central opens its season Tuesday at Calloway County.
