Argos takes on the role of the hunted this year
ARGOS — Argos’ girls basketball team had a very successful season a year ago, highlighted by sixand seven-game winning streaks, an undefeated run through the Hoosier Plains Conference and a sectional title before bowing out in the regional final. The Lady Dragons will need to fill the void left by four graduating seniors, including Elizabeth Edmonds, who has moved on to the Holy Cross College roster.
“We will miss Liz’s defense and rebounding presence around the basket. We will have to pick up the slack in that area, but I’m excited about the season,” said Argos head coach Scott Jennings, who is assisted by Mallorie Sellers and Amanda Davis. “We have a lot of experience coming back and I’ve coached the girls for three years now. Having a bit of success last year has probably put a target on our backs as teams will bring their ‘A’ game to try and beat us. That is what we want and need to keep getting better. Our goal is to try and win each game knowing other teams are going to have to play well to beat us.”
Key returnees include seniors Amanda Fajardo, Bella Stults, Emma Dunlap and Baleigh Binkley, juniors Samantha Redinger and Aleasia Sarver, plus sophomores Ava Stackhouse and Morgyn Barcus.
Newcomers to watch are sophomore Alydiah Leed and freshmen Grace Thomas and Ellie Bollenbacher.
“We have four starters back and then throw in Baleigh Binkley, who wasn’t eligible until sectionals last year (transfer), and that makes for a solid five,” added Jennings. “I think after a few games under our belt that the improvement of Stackhouse, Barcus, Sarver and Leed will make us pretty deep. Our freshmen will see some minutes and bring some added size off the bench.
“Our strength will be our experience. We have a lot of offensive threats out of that first five. We are a lot quicker I feel than last year and we will use that to our advantage offensively and defensively. The chemistry is good and our vocal leadership has improved.”
The Lady Dragons will find out early what they have when they open at Caston (Thursday), then host Triton for the home opener on Nov. 8. The first HPC contest is at home against Trinity on Nov. 18. The Bell Game is at Culver on Nov. 22.
“It will be more competitive in our conference this year,” said Jennings. “Last year some of the teams had some pretty young rosters. It’s hard to tell from one year to the next with the private schools who they might add to their roster. We won’t take any of them lightly. I think Bethany Christian will be good. Lakeland Christian ended up 12-9 last year which was very solid. I felt Trinity came on pretty strong at the end of the year as well.”
Argos will again be part of the Bi-county Tournament (begins Jan. 17), a tourney they have never won. The Lady Dragons are part of the slightly revamped Sectional 50 for Class 1A that still includes Oregondavis, Culver Community, Triton and Trinity, but adds Marquette Catholic and Westville. Lacrosse and West Central moved to other sectionals.
“I think the sectional will be very competitive this year, much more than last year,” concluded Jennings. “Some of the teams have a lot of experience coming back and there are some well-coached teams. We want to try to peak again by sectional, see if we can gain some momentum and see how far we can go.”