The Dawson Springs girls’ basketball program continues to be a work in progress as Jon Palmer begins his second season as Lady Panther head coach.
With a year to install his system and get familiar with the players, Palmer says things have become a little easier in year two.
“Yeah, a lot of the little things when we’re trying to establish a program or reestablish a program. Last year, they had to learn all my expectations and the way I do things. And this year practices run a little bit smoother, going from drill to drill and that kind of thing.”
The Lady Panthers know that competing in the 7th District with larger schools Madisonville-North Hopkins, Hopkins County Central and Caldwell County is always a challenge. But Dawson Springs expects to be improved this season.
“Well, we’ve got all our starters back, so … We haven’t grown any taller, but we’re still going to play the style that we played last year, which is up and down for us as much as we can when we can. But if we get some people to step up and make some shots, which was one of our big problems last year — we’ve been working on that quite a bit — but if we get some people to make some shots, then I think we’ll be quite improved.”
Junior Briley Sawyer will handle the ball a lot at the point guard spot while sophomore twins Ashton and Baylee Swatzell return to the starting lineup as well.
Juniors Emmie Colson and Alyssa Allison also figure to be in the starting lineup for a Lady Panther team that will try to make up for a lack of size with its quickness.
“I’ll also have Alieah Cook, who’s an eighth grader, who will be in that mix from time to time. Audri Scott, who’s a seventh grader, will be in the mix from time to time,” said Palmer. “And then Olivia Hines, who is a freshman. So, we’re still kind of young, but they’re looking pretty good for the next two years.”
Baylee Swatzell was the team’s leading scorer last season at 9.7 points a game. Sawyer was next at 5 points a night while Ashton Swatzell netted 3.5.
Colson scored 3.3 points and grabbed a team-high 5.2 rebounds a contest.
The Lady Panthers went 7-15 last season and are looking to improve on those numbers this year.
“We’ve been preaching that in practice,” said Palmer. “I told them, we’ve absolutely got to take a step forward. If not, then we have to reevaluate what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.
“We were able to put together what I consider a more favorable schedule. Last year, we were playing just about every night, you know, 1,000, 1,200, 1,400-student schools. And this year, we’re playing more 200, 300, 400-student schools. So, I think on paper, it’s more favorable. Now, if that translates from our practices to games, that’s still to be said.”
Challenging in the 7th District will be difficult, but the Lady Panthers hope they are closing the gap.
“It is tough,” said Palmer. “I think Caldwell, they should be improved. Central, I think, is still the team to beat. They’ve got everybody back as far as I know. At least their two outstanding players are back. North is always going to be North— but I don’t know much about them this year. But I think Central is still the team to beat.”
The Lady Panthers begin the season with a trip to Christian Fellowship School in Marshall County on Tuesday.
