Lady Lions under new tutelage

The Jessieville Lady Lions are anxious to get started this season under new head coach Magen Scrivner. “I am super excited about leading this team, and we are counting down the days until the season,” Scrivner said. She replaces Matt Carter, who led the Lady Lions to a 26-6 record last season, including a trip to the second round of the state playoffs. Carter is now the boys basketball head coach at his alma mater Cutter Morning Star. Scrivner coached at Camden Harmony Grove for a year and at Magnet Cove High School for five years. Jessieville returns just two players from last winter, including senior Makayla Wilson and junior Jaidyn Fortenberry. Wilson averaged 6 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game last year, while Fortenberry tallied 3 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. “Wilson is 5-8 and a great athlete,” the coach said of the possible college prospect. “She is very skilled, a great scorer and a great rebounder.” Other possible inside threats include junior Celestie Nasilai, junior Cassidy Tucker, junior Allison Storement, sophomore Lilliana Fehrenbacher and sophomore Jakirah Hickey. Junior Amy De Hass, junior Lexi Basset, sophomore Taryn Anderson, sophomore Taylor Cate and junior Summer Jones lead the way at the perimeter, the coach said. “We are enforcing defense and players stepping up and scoring,” Scrivner said. “Last year’s group brought a lot to the court, especially being able to score. “We lost a lot of last year’s scoring, so we have been working on a lot of offensive drills to help replace last year’s scoring abilities.” The coach said that with very little experience coming back, Jessieville is putting a lot of emphasis on the team’s defense. “With several kids to replace, we want a great team defensively with tough mental and physical play,” Scrivner said. “Offensively, we are working on stepping up in that area, but I have 100 percent faith in my team that we will step up when needed.”