Northeastern’s Olivia Davis tries to dribble around teammates during a drill at a pre-season practice.
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – Northeastern Head Girls Basketball Coach Princess Darnell welcomes back three seniors as she begins her third season with the Knights.
“I feel great,” Darnell said. “This is the best beginning of the season we’ve ever had.”
“This is the furthest we’ve ever been as far as implementing offense and defense,” Darnell added. “That says a lot considering half of my group are freshman.”
The seniors for the Knights are Madi Clay, Kasey Andrews and Olivia Harris. Clay was a member of the All-Tri-Eastern Conference. Harris topped the Knights with 13 points in Northeastern’s sectional victory over Union County, while Clay tossed in 11 during the contest.
The other player returning with the most experience is sophomore Kelli Drake, who led the Knights with 10 points in the sectional final against Winchester. She was also All-TEC Honorable Mention.
“We have some really great leadership,” Darnell said. “We have kids who are really committed to getting better. They understand that this is a process.”
Drew Noland is a junior for the Knights, while the other sophomores are Sidney Dill, Aunika Railsback and Alizah Rankin. The freshmen are Jamie Andrews, McKenzie Chasteen, Kelsey Cottongim, Jenna McFarland, Lilly Meyer, Willow Runyon and Emma Wright.
The Knights finished 4-19 a year ago, but reaching the sectional championship contest provided a boost for the program.
“We were excited about how things ended,” Darnell said. “They want to carry over that success. What happened at the end of last season really gave us the confidence that we needed.”
Darnell has been pleased with the early season progress.
“I’m really excited about a lot of the things I am seeing,” she said. “Everyone understands their role. They are a very unselfish group.”
The Knights have a pair of road contests on the opening weekend of the season. On Friday, Northeastern visits Randolph Southern before traveling to Cowan on Saturday.