Lady Dawgs have depth, more ‘settled’ as new season tips off
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
BURNET — As he thought about his Burnet High School girls basketball program, head coach Doug Messer drew a conclusion.
“I really feel like we have as good as we had when Katie Maldonado and Leah Cotton were here,” he said, referring to the Lady Dawgs team from 2012-2013 that lost to Liberty Hill in the Class 3A Region IV championship.
The Lady Dawgs begin the 2014-2015 season at home game against Comanche at 6:30 p.m Nov. 11 in The Doghouse, 1000 The Green Mile in Burnet.
The Lady Dawgs are led by guards Riley Scott, Shaylah Hullum and Danielle Lindley and posts Sarah Poe and Rose Bailey.
Messer enters his second season as the head coach after spending eight years as the assistant girls basketball coach. He said he’s still evaluating but believes 13 Lady Dawgs will make up the roster.
One trait of this team will be crucial for the season.
“We’re building depth,” the coach said. “Last year, we played a core of six or seven kids.”
He noted that Lindley, Scott and Hullum played all 32 minutes during the 55-44 loss to Glen Rose in the first round of the playoffs last season.
“They needed a break,” Messer said.
He acknowledged the basketball program went through major changes in the system last season.
“It was a culture shock for us,” he said. “We feel like we settled in a little bit. You never know what change is going to do.”
Another factor he believes will help is that some of the athletes have been playing basketball since the summer. And spending another year in the schemes can only help, he adds.
“It’s just a better understanding of the system,” the coach said. “They understand why we are doing certain things.”
And the final factor Messer hopes will make a difference is the rapport on and off the court.
“I think we’re more of a family than in the past,” he said.
jfierro@thepicayune.com