Lady Blue Devils hope to improve under new coach

The Shirley Lady Blue Devils are coming off a rough season with only two wins, but new coach Katelyn Lane is optimistic for their future. “Overall, I would say that you could expect a fairly good season,” Lane said. “We have to get the talented 10th-grade group accustomed to senior high ball because we are very young. We have five 10th-graders, two 11th-graders and two seniors.” Shirley opened this season with a loss to Mammoth Spring, then beat Conway St. Joseph 54-47 on Oct. 19. The lone returning starter is senior Jordan Burgess. “Last year’s team, from what I understand, didn’t have a whole lot of depth,” Lane said. “We have a good group of 10th-graders coming up to help with depth, bringing new components that they didn’t have last year in senior high.” Lane said the best inside players are sophomores Erika Phillips and Graysen Berry. The best outside players are sophomores Trista Doty and Teigha Black. “Both can shoot the ball pretty well,” Lane said. “Teigha is a driving threat. She’s a versatile player.” Lane said shooting will be a team strength. “We have several who can shoot the ball pretty well, and then we have our two post players who work pretty well together in the post,” Lane said. “I”m excited to see what this year will bring.” Lane said her team doesn’t do well against pressure. “But we’re working on it every day,” she said. “We also get down on ourselves real easy, and I’m trying to break them of that. We also don’t have a true leader who has stepped up. Usually on a team, you can just kind of tell who the natural leader is. We don’t have that. I need someone to step up and be that for us.”