Girls Basketball Preview: After postseason return, Lady Eagles excited to start new season Posted On: Wednesday, Nov. 4 2009 04:59 AM By Alex Byington
Killeen Daily Herald

A year removed from its first trip to the playoffs since 2001, the Ellison girls basketball team enters a season with a rare emotion circulating the locker room – excitement.

"I'm really excited about this year's team, they're a great bunch of young ladies and they're playing hard," said Lady Eagles coach Sherry McKinnon, who's entering her fourth season at Ellison. "I feel like we have the same heartbeat on what we want and what we think we can accomplish."

With seven returning varsity players, including four-year varsity seniors Alisha Jones and Desiree Wylie leading the charge, the Lady Eagles are beating with one cohesive breath – to win District 12-5A and make a deep playoff run.

"This being me and Desiree's last year, we want to go out with a bang," Jones said.

Brought up on varsity as freshmen, both Jones and Wylie have grown right along with their coach, creating an atmosphere where everybody knows their role and what is expected of them, something McKinnon said will only make the team stronger.

"Those two young ladies are very special to me ...," McKinnon said. "They feel like they're my babies, because they were babies when I got here and they've developed and grown so much."

Of course, it all starts with the two most experienced players – Jones, a 5-foot-7 point guard, and Wylie, a 5-foot-10 forward.

"We're just trusting each other and realizing that all of us are here for the same purpose," McKinnon said. "And I have to make sure everybody has the same goal in mind that we're not individuals – we're too big of a team to have a lot of I's."

Probably Ellison's biggest advantage entering the season is that it returns all five of last year's starters.

Joining Jones and Wylie will be fellow all-district selections Jasmine Washington (5-7 guard), Jolissa Williams (5-10 post) and Ocleta Young (5-6 guard).

Although not a particularly large team, with the largest player 6-foot sophomore Alayshia Hunter, the Lady Eagles will rely heavily on their speed, defense and overall knowledge of the system.

"We're going to be a transition team this year," McKinnon said. "I really believe that because the girls are that quick and the bench is very strong."

Offensively, McKinnon said she needs the team to pick up its overall shooting percentages, especially inside the paint and at the free-throw line, something the Lady Eagles lacked last season despite repeated opportunities thanks to the aggressive post play of Wylie.

Picked among the bottom-feeders during the preseason, the Lady Eagles were the surprise of the district, reaching the postseason as the district's No. 4 seed with an 8-6 district record.

They are not going to surprise anyone this year, but Ellison knows what they want more for themselves.

"Right now, we've just have to get to jelling and them having the instinct of knowing where everybody is going to be on the court," McKinnon said. "But they all want to win, they all want to be district champs (for) the first time in how many years."

Contact Alex Byington at alexb@kdhnews.com or at (254) 501-7566.