Experience to help undersized Searcy
The Searcy Lady Lions had an up-and-down year during the 20162017 season as the team finished with an overall record of 10-20 and 2-10 in conference. The team’s struggles stemmed from road play, where the Lady Lions finished with just two wins, going 2-9 on the season. The upcoming season could prove to be a challenging one for Searcy after losing its two leading scorers from the previous year, but this year’s team will have experience and leadership under its belt in three returning senior starters and two returning juniors. Head coach Michelle Birdsong has compiled a 177-164 record going into her 13th season as head coach of the Searcy Lady Lions and is going into her 32nd year of coaching overall, amassing a record of 445-279. Birdsong, alongside assistant coach Larry Stamps, has the luxury this year of returning senior guard Sydney Hicks, 5-6; senior post player Kortni Vanwinkle, 5-7; and senior forward Emily Housley, 5-11, all to the starting lineup. The team will also return junior forwards Ta’Lor Branch, 5-7, and La’Tiana Floyd, 5-9. While Branch and Floyd did not start last season, both players have proven to be productive and will be looked to, along with the team as a whole, to fill the void of the two leading scorers from a season ago. Branch finished the 2016-2017 season averaging 4.4 points per game and 3.2 rebounds, while Floyd averaged 2 points per game and 2.1 rebounds, both coming off the bench. Hicks will enter the upcoming season as the third leading scorer for the Lady Lions a year ago with an average of 5.7 points per game. She also contributed 2.7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist per game. Vanwinkle proved to wreak havoc on the boards last year, and the team will hope for that dominance again for the upcoming season. While averaging 7.5 rebounds per game a year ago, Vanwinkle also posted 4.4 points, 2 steals and 1 assist per game. Housley averaged 4.8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist last season. The team will need
Housley to make her presence known, both in scoring the ball and grabbing rebounds, as she is the tallest returner on a team that lacks in size. Down on the block, Birdsong reiterated that Vanwinkle will likely be relied on heavily on both sides of the ball. “Offensively, she is very quick and explosive,” the coach said. “Defensively, she is able to read well and plays great help-side defense.” Around the perimeter, Birdsong said, Hicks and Housley will be the main go-to options. “Both are good shooters and passers,” the coach said. Look for the Lady Lions to use versatility on offense and solid sound defense throughout the season. Birdsong talked about hoping to see the team balance on the scoreboard, with the senior leadership helping lead the team through the year. “I think this year, we return a lot more experience than we had last year,” she said. “We lost our two leading scorers from last year, but I think we have some girls who will step up to that challenge and take their place. Because we return several players with playing experience, I think we should be more balanced in our scoring.” Birdsong added that the experience will be enhanced through the players playing a lot of ball together. She also said the Lady Lions will have some depth on the bench that will help the team. Although the Lady Lions will not be the tallest team in the 6A-East or the 5A/6A blended conference, leadership and scoring balance could be the keys to a run in the state tournament, a tournament they faltered in the first round against Russellville a year ago. Look for the returning upperclassmen to help lead this Searcy team while using their great chemistry to guide the Lady Lions to victory.