Lady Daredevils look to repeat as state champs

The Wonderview girls bookended their 2012 Class 1A state championship — the first in school history — with a 37-3 run last year for their second. Jeremy Simon left for the Vilonia boys job in the offseason, but his seven seasons at Wonderview were stellar: 2011-12, 38-6, Class 1A state championship; 2012-13, 30-8, state semifinals; 2013-14, 33-8, state runner-up; 2014-15, 33-10, state runner-up; 2015-16, 27-13, state semifinals; 2016-17, 38-5, state runner-up; and 2017-18, 37-3, state champion. But with new coach Cody Richey and three returning starters, 2018-19 doesn’t appear to be a rebuilding season. “Winning a state title is always a hard thing to accomplish two years in a row, but we do feel like we have the ability to be back in Hot Springs next March,” Richey said. “I believe our strengths will be our pace of play and depth of talent. “These girls play fast and smart, which will make them a very tough opponent.” Wonderview won the 1A-5 North championship and beat South Side Bee Branch, 67-54; Rural Special, 54-48; and Mount Vernon-Enola, 58-43, to win the Class 1A Region 3 title. After a first-round bye in the Class 1A State Tournament, the Daredevils knocked off Mount Ida, 73-33; Bay in the quarterfinals, 44-39; and Norfork in the semifinals, 64-44, before dinging Mount VernonEnola again in the state-championship game at Hot Springs’ Bank of the Ozarks Arena. Returning Daredevil starters are Faith Byers, a junior point guard; Bailey Wright, a junior shooting guard; and Kailee Gullett, a junior small forward. “Faith Byers and Bailey Wright will return as one of the best duos in [Class] 1A basketball,” Richey said. “Both of them have solid inside and outside ability, which will make them very hard to guard.”

Byers is already on the radar of several colleges, the coach said. “After this season, she has the potential to be a Division II prospect to the right team,” he said. “She is one of — if not the best — point guard in [Class] 1A basketball. Bailey Wright would most likely have a future playing basketball, but she has already committed to play Division I softball at Louisiana Tech.” Richey said that besides Gullett, the Daredevils will have three solid post options who will all get solid minutes this season. “Losing most of our post presence last year would hurt most teams, but we have been fortunate to have [sophomore power forward] Abby Gullett, [sophomore small forward] Mallory Jones and [freshman strong forward] Audrey Beck to fill those roles,” he said. The new coach said his biggest concern is consistency of play. “Playing at a high level is hard to do day in and day out,” he said. “At that point, it becomes a mental game. We have to show up focused every game. If we can do that, we can play with anyone in any classification.” The Daredevils will have their hands full, though, with the 1A-5 Conference, the coach said. “You would be hard-pressed to find the depth of talent that the 1A-5 has this year with the new conference expansion,” Richey said. “Mount Vernon and Rural Special will look to make their own mark in the record book this year. Sacred Heart, West Side, Concord and Shirley will all be able to compete this year.” “Mount Vernon will continue to be a tough opponent. After meeting in the state finals last season, you can bet those conference games will be very heated this year.” Richey said that despite missing some key players from the state-championship run, “the work ethic, talent and senior leadership make this team just as strong as they were last season. “Our new starters and bench players will be key to our success.”