Expectations are soaring for the Madill Lady Wildcats with a strong returning nucleus and talented newcomers in the quest to reach the state tournament for the first time in program history.
Despitesomekeyinjuriesa season ago the Lady Wildcats were on the cusp of taking that step, ending with a 1713 record and in the area semifinal round.
Four starters are back for Coach Eric Holmes’ squad, including six-foot junior E’Niyah Holmes, who was averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per contest before going down with a seasonending ACL injury early in the year. She is expected to return to the lineup after the Christmas break.
“Overall,aslongaswestay healthy, we should make a deep run,” the Madill head coach commented. “We were very young last year. so that experience they got in the playoffs without our leader on the court will benefit us a lot, especially finishing just a game away from state. And adding another elite player will open up a lot of things for us once E’Niyah gets back in January.”
Luciana Douglas, a 5-7 senior, will be one of the catalysts after notching 13 points a game last year along with La’Miyah Brown, who pumped in 11 per night. Stalwart guard Arlette Andrade finished with 5.5 an outing last season but bumped that average to double figures in the playoffs.
Toss in 6-foot-1 freshman Elexis Holmes, who already holds three Division 1 scholarship offers from Arkansas, Colorado State and Wichita State as the top ranked player in Oklahoma in the Class of 2028, and there is definite reason for that optimism.
“Expectations are very high with the amount of experience we have,” Holmes said. “Most of the kids have been in our system for a full year now. Plus, we have a nicefreshmanclassthatwent 18-1 in junior high in which three or four will make great impacts.
“We definitely have a chance to go deep in the playoffs and make state for the first time ever if everyone stays healthy.”
Senior Ireland Groeber has experience and will be a key contributor off the bench along with 6-1 junior Allyson Coles, who is also out until January while rehabbing from an injury.
Freshmen Chloe Miller, Karma Williams and newcomer La Taylor, a move in from Ardmore, will add quality depth with their tremendous athleticism.
“Our strength will be our depth,” Holmes added. “If we are able to play eight or nine players and keep everyone fresh and healthy we should be in pretty good shape. Defensively we should be able to take advantage of a lot of teams. Our transition game is good. We are going to be hard to stop if we lock up defensively and then capitalize quickly with our pressure. We can also switch up different styles in how we need to exploit opponents.
“We have a lot better chemistry this year and it’s just going to add to what we have going on when we get our injured players back.”
Madill once again faces the normal Lake County Conference slate of games along with its own Winter Classic to begin the season. They have also added a showcase event in Yukon in late December along with the Atoka tournament and will also face Ardmore and Riverside in non-league action.
“We have several games that will challenge us,” Coach Holmes added. “Riverside beat up on us pretty good up there last year and we have had that one circled on the schedule for a while. We will play a couple of solid teams in Yukon in the showcase as well. We’re going to get tested early, which will be good for us.”