Beebe girls face tough nonconference schedule

Conference: 5A Central

Coach: Greg Richey

Assistant coach: Shelby Ruesewald

2019-20 record: 13-13

Returning starters: Juniors Madelyn Atkins, Joey Babel, Mya Bradley and Emily Bevill; and senior Teighlor Farmer

The Beebe Lady Badgers are a very young team by most standards, with only one senior, but head coach Greg Richey said they are talented, and if “they continue to work very hard, we could have a very good year.”

“The schedule I put in front of them may be one of the most challenging in the state, but that is what makes you better,” said Richey, who has been the head coach at Beebe for nine years. “We hope that our tough nonconference schedule prepares us for the tough 5A-Central.”

Richey said that, in his opinion, Beebe’s schedule consists of a lot of great games to watch, including the nonconference ones against Vilonia, Hot Springs, Nettleton, Paragould and Batesville. He said the 5A-Central Conference has very good teams in Jacksonville, Sylvan Hills, Little Rock Christian and Little Rock Parkview, and the games against Benton, Little Rock Hall and Maumelle will be tough ones.

Beebe finished 13-13 last season and tied for fourth in one of the toughest conferences in the state.

“It should help prepare this team for the upcoming year,” Richey said.

Last season, Beebe started three sophomores, one freshman and one junior, the coach said, and everyone who played significant time off the bench was a sophomore.

“So we will be very young and have only one senior on the team, but with the experience they received as sophomores last year, it should definitely help,” Richey said.

Returning starters include junior Madelyn Atkins, who averaged just over 15 points per game last season, and junior Joey Babel, who averaged 7 points and 3 steals per game. Atkins has been offered by three NCAA Division II schools, and even some Division I schools are showing a lot of interest, Richey said.

He said returning starter Teighlor Farmer, who averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds per game last season, has been offered by one NAIA College and has had others show interest.

“A few of the other players on the team are garnering interest,

and time will tell how much interest they will receive from colleges,” Richey said.

Junior Amya Bonds and junior Emily Bevill, who averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game last season, saw significant time as sophomores last year. Richey said they both have become much stronger in the post, and Bevill has worked on stepping out and becoming a very good outside threat as well.

The coach said Mya Bradley, Zoe Mcghee and Tori Bailey are all very viable threats from the outside. He said they all show the ability to put it on the floor and get to the basket.

“This team has a lot of quickness and speed up and down the floor, with the ability to get to the basket and also shoot from the 3-point range,” Richey said. “The transition game should definitely be a strength for us.”

Richey said this team can go eight to nine deep, and he hopes the team will gain some more depth with a couple of sophomores who will help throughout the year.

“We are average when it comes to size, and bigger teams could cause us problems,” Richey said. “We should be more physical this year, and this could help us overcome some of our size mismatches.

“Also, we are still young, which is good, and the one senior we have is an excellent leader, but all coaches like to have those three or four kids who can help younger ones along.

“I feel good about the young players who will be on the floor.”