Coach impressed with passing game, intensity
The Batesville Lady Pioneers are coming off a phenomenal season, one that saw the team go 25-6 overall and 11-1 in conference play, good enough to win the 5A/6A blended conference. Batesville returns some major talent and experience for the 2017-2018 season. Junior shooting guard Taylor Griffin, 5-8, and senior point guard/shooting guard Taylor Hammack, 6-0, will be the returning starters for the Lady Pioneers. Griffin has already received some attention from Texas State University. Head coach Stan Fowler, who boasts a 67-22 record while at Batesville with an overall record of 458-237, said he is amazed with Griffin’s abilities on the court. “Taylor is a scoring machine and one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached,” he said. Hammack has already verbally committed to play basketball at Lipscomb University, a Division I school in Nashville. Fowler said she is a great passer who can also attack the rim. Fowler said he has a handful of players who have the potential to start this season, including senior point guard/shooting guard Hope Lange, 5-6; junior point guard/shooting guard Erin Haigwood, 5-6; junior post player Alley Edwards, 6-1; senior forward/shooting guard Hannah Baxter, 5-10; and freshman guard Isabella Higginbottom, 5-7. Fowler said Lange brings experience and adds to the team’s perimeter shooting, while Haigwood has proven she can handle the pressure that comes with the job through her excellent offseason summer. He added that Edwards helps the team through her great speed and leaping ability. Like Griffin, she too has received attention from Texas State University. For Baxter and Higginbottom, it is their shooting and passing abilities that have Fowler impressed. Higginbottom has already received some attention from Division I schools. Overall, Fowler is anticipating the amount of leadership and experience the team will have this season. “Lange, Haigwood, Edwards and Baxter all started in at least 11 games last year. This is why I am so excited about our experience,” the coach said. “Last year, the girls won the 5A/6A blended conference. This time
around, our goal is to win the whole thing.” Batesville will use its experience as its primary strength coming into the season but will also rely on the team’s quickness, size and what Fowler calls “some of the best passers in the state.” Look for the Lady Pioneers to move the ball around with ease and get plenty of open looks, although Fowler said he always wants to shoot the ball better from the perimeter. Fowler said fans should look forward to regular-season games against Mountain Home, Vilonia and Beebe throughout the 5A/6A blended conference, and Nettleton, Green County Tech and Paragould in the 5A-East. Vilonia delivered a midseason loss to Batesville last season, while Nettleton appeared to be the Lady Pioneers’ Achilles’ heel, defeating Batesville all three times the teams faced off last season. “This is a very experienced team with great talent,” Fowler said. “They love to play a run-andgun type game with lots of intensity. It will be a very entertaining season.”