Lady Eagles want to play faster; men have young team

SPECIAL TO THE NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE CLARKSVILLE — The University of the Ozarks Lady Eagles will have much different style of play from a season ago.

That’s what can happen when a program loses three post players and the roster consists of 12 guards on the 15-player roster.

“Will we have to do things a little different,” Ozarks coach Carl Ramsey said. “We will have to change our offensive philosophy because we were playing slow with some size on the court. But now with what we are looking at, we want to get the ball up and down the court.”

Junior point guard Hailey Ostrander from Alma will look to lead the new up-tempo attack for the Lady Eagles after having a breakout sophomore season. Ostrander averaged 11 points, 2.8 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals per game last year.

She also scored in double figures 14 times in 25 games to help pace the Lady Eagles. Ostrander made a three-point basket in 18 games while hitting two or more in 12 contests to help space the floor.

“Ostrander runs the point for us and is a big part of the team,” Ramsey said. “She will handle the ball for us and will provide leadership on the floor. She plays good defense and can hit some three-pointers.”

Junior forward Diamond Goodwyn often last year played behind the three other post players but will be asked to play more minutes this season after a strong year.

Goodwyn had nine points and seven rebounds per game for the Lady Eagles last season while just playing 20 minutes a game coming off the bench. Senior forward Anisha Johnson also returns after starting 21 games and averaging five and three rebounds per game.

Ozarks just missed making the conference tournament a year ago by finishing fifth playing in the NCAA Division III American Southwest Conference with an overall record of 10-15.

Ramsey, who begins his ninth season with the program helping guide it to four playoff appearances, looks for his team to play better on the road after finishing with a 1-8 record away from home.

“A big key for us this year will be getting focused and competing on the road,” Ramsey said. “We’ve had winning seasons at home. It’s tough and we have some long trips. But we need to come up with some road wins, which could be the difference in the playoffs again.”

Kamryn McKinney, Kylie Devries, Destinee Manning, Cassie Emerson and Samantha Childers from Clarksville will look to provide an impact right away as freshmen.

Ashley Hipps from Greenland joins Ramsey as the assistant coach after playing for the Lady Eagles from 2012-2016.

“She has joined our staff and will be huge for us,” Ramsey said. “Having someone that has been in our program for four years will help us. She knows what’s going on out there. She knows a lot of people in Northwest Arkansas as well.”

MEN

Just a quick glance at the roster will be all the reminder of how young the team is for first-year coach Travis Carruthers.

The Eagles will feature a class of 13 freshman and just one returning starter as they look to improve on last year’s 8-17 record competing in the NCAA Division III American Southwest Conference.

“I might lose all my hair by the end of the year,” Carruthers said with a laugh. “It’s kind of scary because we are young. But it’s going to be fun. We are going to hang our hat on hard work. We have a lot to prove.”

Senior forward Dylan Gray from Siloam Springs returns as the team’s lone starter. He averaged 14 points, a teamhigh eight rebounds and a steal while playing 30 minutes per game last season.

“He has had a nice supporting cast in the past,” Carruthers said. “We are challenging him to make his senior year special. He has an opportunity to be the player of the year in the conference. He has the size and skill to do so.”

The Eagles return just 23 percent of its total scoring from a year ago, so the team will turn to Gray early and often throughout the season.

Gray, 6-5, 200, scored double figures 19 times and four times he scored 20 or more points in 25 games last season. He also posted a double-double nine times to help guide the Eagles.

“Hopefully we have enough pieces around him to not just lean on him exclusively,” Carruthers said. “But he is going to be the backbone of who we are going to be this year.”

Joey Hall from Pea Ridge and Zach Bobo from Jacksonville headline the freshman class that will look to make an impact right away.

Hall, who earned NWA Democrat-Gazette Division II Player of the Year honors, averaged 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game while leading the Blackhawks to the state championship game last year.