Laura Friday’s first year at the helm of the Mississinewa Indians’ was a successful one.
With an emphasis on defense, the Indians compiled 13 wins, and a Grant Four championship, before coming up just short in their sectional opener against Norwell.
While Friday and the Indians had hoped to advance further in the tournament, Mississinewa’s second-year coach believes that last year’s success and failures will fuel her team’s success this season.
“With the sectional, the way we ended, even though we ended with a loss, I was super impressed with our girls,” Friday said. “I was very proud of them because early in the season, we played Norwell and got whomped. And to end up in sectionals and only losing by four, it was such a big improvement and a confidence boost to our girls going into this season.
“That was our main goal last year. Every single day, we wanted to get better, and I think we did that. That has prepared us to have a really good season this year.”
Over the summer, all of Mississinewa’s workouts were virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, the Indians were committed to putting the work in. Attendance was high throughout the summer, and Friday could tell when in-person workouts began that her kids were much improved both physically and skill-wise.
“It’s not a huge team, but you can tell that every single one of the girls that we have are fully committed,” Friday said. “We’ve been having longer practices than usual, but no one is complaining. I think they are excited for this season.”
In practice, the Indians always start with the fundamentals, targeting ball handling to instill confidence that no team or individual can take the ball from them. Shooting has been a big focus as well, and of course, defense.
Friday has been happy with the team’s progression.
“We’ve gotten better every single day,” Friday said. “That’s been the goal for us. You can start seeing the light bulbs come on for some of the younger kids or the ones that are brand new to our program. It’s exciting for them to run a play or get something on defense they didn’t get the day before. I think it’s all coming together.”
The Indians suffered a pair of huge losses in point guard Riley McKee and center Caily Bolser. McKee was the floor general for the Indians, running the offense to perfection, while Bolser, when healthy, was the Indians’ best offensive weapon.
Furthermore, they were tremendous leaders, both on the floor and off the floor.
However, several current Indians are settling into those leadership roles.
“We’ve had Darah Watson and Alayna Webb really step up in that leadership, along with Mia. Mia has always been a lead-by-example type, but she’s now starting to step up and speak a little bit more at practice.
“Those three, really, are going to be our main leaders this year.”
Watson (7.0 ppg, 2.2 spg) is a defensive maven, and has the ability to score points in bunches when called upon. Catey (8.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is a player with tremendous length, athleticism, and scoring ability, and will be relied on more heavily on the offensive end of the floor. Webb (7.3 ppg) is a lights-out shooter from the perimeter, while newcomer Mackenzie Austin will also provide scoring touch from the perimeter.
“We want to have a very balanced lineup, and I think we can,” Friday said. “We are not going to be as tall as we’ve been in the past, but with the players that we have and with our leadership, we are going to be a well-balanced team offensively and defensively.”
Kaiyah Jones, Marley Starnes, and Karmen Swindall will also play bigger roles for the Indians in 2020-2021. Jones and Starnes are both excellent defenders, while Swindall, like Austin, is an excellent rebounder and an ever-improving three-point shooter.
“We have seven or eight girls that can really score, that can play defense, get in your face, and make you turn the ball over,” Friday said. “I think defense is a huge part of how we are going to win games this year. I’m just super excited. I think anybody will be able to step up at any time.”
Heading into the coming campaign, the Indians are looking not only to defend their Grant Four championship, but also advance further in the sectional tournament. Mississinewa begins their season on Thursday, November 5 against Northfield.
“One goal is [to win] Grant Four, but that’s not the main goal,” Friday said. “We want to get past that first round of sectionals. We want to win sectionals. We want to make our record a little bit better, and not only cut Grant Four nets down, but also cutting sectional nets down.”
