After two seasons and a 24-22 overall record, Omega Tandy departed the Mississinewa girls basketball program, looking to pursue her dream of coaching at the collegiate level.
Luckily for the Indians, her replacement is one that is familiar to them.
Laura Friday, a University of Evansville grad who coached under Tandy for the previous two seasons, was promoted to the head coaching position earlier this year. A Marion native, Friday met Tandy while at Evansville, and the two formed a fast friendship.
When Tandy took the job at Mississinewa two seasons ago, she personally tabbed Friday to be her assistant, and after sitting under her tutelage, she is ready to lead the Indians to the next level.
While she plans to incorporate her own style of coaching, Tandy’s influence will be evident throughout the season.
“I’m more of an offensive-minded person,” Friday said. “Running the floor was my playing style, so we will be more offensive-minded. But what I learned from Coach Tandy was defense. That stuck with me – because defense makes the whole game. We will be very defensive-minded in our playing style right now. Obviously, that will lead to more offense, which makes me happy, but we will be focusing a lot on our defense.”
While the Indians lost two excellent seniors in Ally Hewitt (8.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG) and Tyler Bartel (7.4, 3.1 RPG), they return a strong nucleus of talent, including leader scorer Caily Bolser (13.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG), ever-improving point guard Riley McKee (9.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG), sharpshooter Alayna Webb (7.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG), defensive maven Darah Watson (4.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG), and gifted underclassmen Mia Catey (3.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG) and Carly Bolser (1.0 PPG, 1.6 RPG)
After winning 13 games a season ago, this group is looking for even more success in 2019.
“We have a really good core group, and we also have great leadership within that group,” Friday said. “Everyone on our team, they all have varsity experience, so we will be very experienced when it comes to games and knowing what we need to do in certain situations. They know how to play with each other, and that’s really important. Some things are changing, but they know the expectations. That has helped us transition into everything so well. It’s really been good for us this summer and preseason.”
Over the course of the offseason workouts and preseason workouts, Friday has been encouraged with the progression of all of her players, especially Watson, Catey, and Carly Bolser, who will all take on more significant roles in the upcoming season.
“Our underclassmen, like Mia Catey, Carly Bolser, and Darah Watson, have improved so much. Darah and Mia both played AAU this summer, [and we have seen] great improvement from both of them. Them just being able to play all summer helped with their basketball knowledge.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve seen so far. We obviously have a lot of work to do, and we will in the beginning of the season as well. I’m proud of where we are right now.”
As the starting point guard last year, McKee seemed to grow more comfortable in that role. Working with Friday, who was a point guard herself in college, has helped expand her arsenal and mold into a more efficient offensive facilitator.
“Riley, her and I work well together, which is what you need from a point guard,” Friday said. “She is such a strong leader on the floor and off the floor. She does the right things. She knows what we want in our culture. She makes things happen. She’s not just a passer and a talker. She’s now a scorer.”
Bolser, a University of Toledo commit, has put in the work throughout the offseason, according to Friday, and is looking to put up big numbers in her senior campaign.
“Caily – she’s a powerhouse. She’s challenging herself to do better and do more on the court,” Friday said. “She wants to improve a lot. I’m super excited to see what she does on the floor this year.”
Webb, unlike some of her teammates, is more quiet and reserved, but she leads by example, and has set a high standard for all of her teammates to follow.
“She does the right thing,” Friday said. “She gets it done in the classroom. She shows in her playing that she is a leader. She’s a great teammate, so she is helping to lead these girls by example.”
With the season just around the corner, both Friday and the Indians are ready to get the season underway.
“Every single day, I’m learning something new,” Friday said. “I have a great coaching staff and I have a great group of girls that want to be coached. That makes everything a lot easier. We truly believe that we can win some games. We have a tough schedule, but I think we will be a surprise to a lot of people this year. They want to prove something. We are really excited, and we can’t wait to get started.”
