Hoxie focused on goals

The Hoxie Lady Mustangs were not happy about being bumped in the first round of last year’s state tournament, and head coach Mike Chipman said he expects a more focused desire to achieve their goal this season. “We have a ton of experience coming back, and we expect to be extremely competitive throughout the course of the season,” Chipman said. “We don’t have a ton of girls on our roster, but the girls we have can play. “If you come to a Lady Mustangs game, you’re going to see us get up and down the floor, work on defense and rebound the basketball.” Returning for Hoxie this season is three-year starter and senior Sydney Gillham, who averaged 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last year; three-year starter and senior Kaitlin Henson, who averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds per game; junior Emily Davis, who averaged 8 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game; and senior Tessa Glenn, who averaged 11 points per game last year. Chipman said Gillham has tons of experience and knows how to get to the basket and follows her shot and rebounds well. The coach said Henson is long and athletic and “uses her long arms to affect shots on defense and handles the ball well, which causes matchup problems on defense.” “Emily Davis is calm and steady and handles pressure well,” Chipman said. “She has good size

for a point guard and is becoming a better shooter each year.” Glenn, who was a two-year starter in McCleod, Texas, before transferring to Hoxie, is “extremely quick and does a good job of getting to the basket and is able to knock down the open shot,” Chipman said. Junior guard Cassidy Clayton averaged 8 points per game off the bench last year while shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line. The coach said she has an extremely quick release and “will make you pay if you give her space.” Sophomore guard Jaedyn Brown averaged more than 8 points per game last year after moving up from junior high a season ago. “She’s a high-energy player with top-notch speed who is not afraid to sit down and guard you,” Chipman said. Hoxie finished 22-11 last year and only has eight girls on the roster this season, so the Lady Mustangs will have to be careful with their foul situation most nights, the coach said. “Our size is going to be tough for teams to match up against,” Chipman said. “We like to get out and run, and we want to guard you man to man. “We have seven girls who can go out and average double figures.”