The chore facing veteran head coach Mike Long and his Perry girls cagers this year is as clear as it is impossible: Try and replace a pair of four-year starters and multiple all-state selections who posted the Jayette all-time scoring and assist records. Add to that replacing a multi-year starter in the post and a dependable reserve.
“It really is impossible,” Long said. “You simply are not going to replace those kind of players. However, we are not going to go off and feel sorry for ourselves, because we have good players returning and some players who can step in and help us. Obviously we will not be as dynamic as we have been the past few years, but are still going to be a darn good team and if we get overlooked could really surprise some people.”
Perry was 15-8 last year and 8-6 in Raccoon River Conference play. The Jayettes are 61-31, 36-26 over the last four years.
Missing will be Claire Marburger, Maggie Lowe, Amy Marckres and Erica Tenold, but starters Grace Marburger and Emma Olejniczak both return, as do Taylor Lathrum and Victoria Hegstrom, both of whom saw plenty of playing time off the bench.
Jo Diw, Mariah Duffy and Alyssa Krueger also figure to be high in the mix, with Grace Stewart, Isabel Saemisch, Haleigh Kenyon, Maddie West, Anna Lansing, Gabby West, Natalie Martinez, Lillian Robles and Turkmeni exchange student Gyzylgul Hojalyyeva also out for Perry.
Long said either Olejniczak or Duffy could be asked to bring the ball up court, with Marburger and Krueger also choices at the point.
“I have kind of really left it up to them to figure it out,” Long said. “All of them are capable. The point will be just to get the ball into the front court and to do it as quick as possible.”
Once there, generating points may prove more difficult than last year, as Claire Marburger was nearly unstoppable with the ball.
“We are going to have to shoot the ball well,” Long said. “Emma is going to have to shoot more or teams will just not even bother coming out on her. She has to be able to knock down that 12 or 15-footer for us and she is shooting the ball much better from what I have seen so far.”
Lathrum is a tall player with strength in the post who, Long said “takes up quite a bit of space with her length and how physical she can be.”
“The thing with Taylor is that she needs to stay positive and not get down on herself if she misses a shot or two,” Long added. “There are going to be 10 to 12 points a game just waiting there for her to take them and we are going to need that. If she gets on the boards she can easily be in the double-digits for us every night.”
Hegstrom, too, will have opportunities to put the ball into the basket from the post, Long said.
“There is nothing stopping Victoria from giving us, say, six or more points and six or more rebounds every night, and if she does more than that — and she can — we are probably going to be in real good shape,” Long said. “We are not going to be the biggest team inside, but we haven’t been for a while. That doesn’t mean we can’t make things happen under and around the basket.”
Diw and Duffy both bring athletic presences to the outside, with Diw’s range something the team may opt to exploit. Krueger, too, can get the hot hand, and Long said he has told her he wants her to shoot whenever open.
“It can be tough on the girls sometimes, because they miss a few shots and get down on themselves,” Long said. “The key is ‘was it a good shot?’ because there is a difference between missing good shots and taking and missing bad ones.”
Grace Marburger figures to be a critical piece for the Jayettes. She has shown flashes in the past of being deadly from the outside while also being able to take the ball to the basket. Keeping the junior out of foul trouble will be key, as will getting the ball to her in the open, as opponents are certain to try and double-team her when possible.
Long said this year’s squad has the advantage of not having much expected of them, although teams Perry has handled decisively in the past few years will now be gunning for the Jayettes.
Another advantage, he said, was the attitude the team has shown so far.
“Last year our seniors would get on the team quite and bit and, at times, could be pretty demanding,” he said. “This year I can already tell that the atmosphere is a lot looser — they are having more fun with it, and that can go a long way, because you absolutely have to get along.”
Perry will visit Newton tonight (Nov. 24) for their season-opener. They will join their Bluejay teammates for a non-conference twinbill at Greene County Dec. 1 first beginning their Raccoon River Conference slate Dec. 4 when Carlisle visits.
