Thursday, March 28, 2024

Coco girls return six veterans under new head coach

FLAGSTAFF

New Coconino girls’ basketball coach Cassie Schrader is expecting big things from her veteran squad.

The Lady Panthers return six players from last year’s team that finished 21-9 overall, which included an appearance in the 4A state playoffs.

Submitted | KFM Designs Sports
Coconino’s Soma Freeman (3) goes up for a two-point shot against a Flagstaff player on Jan. 19. The Lady Panthers fell short, 42-38, against their city rival.

“I have a lot of really good pieces and they have a really high basketball IQ,” Schrader said of the team she inherited from Martin Reyes, who retired after five seasons.

“This is my seventh season with the program and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from Martin,” she said. “I’m using most of the stuff he used because he was all about being super-disciplined in your plays. Of course, you hear that with every coach, but I want to let them know that I’m going to give them a little leeway.”

Schrader said she is going to be flexible in allowing her team to create plays for themselves.

“Hopefully, that comes with me cultivating them with a little confidence as individual players,” she said.

The returning players include seniors Kiana Manuelito, Kiara Manuelito, Mahala Long and Soma Freeman, and juniors Wynter Huskie and Elyce Palmer.

Of the six, Schrader said, Freeman missed all of last season due to a separated shoulder.

With the season nearly two weeks old, Schrader likes what she sees, especially on two fronts: transition and defense.

“I feel like those are our two strengths,” she said. “Hopefully we can get some steals and then just fast-break as much as possible and not be too concerned with being a robot in an offensive set.

“We want to push the ball and whenever we push the ball I think that’s where we’re at our best,” she added. “We’re going to be counting on steals because we definitely have that front court speed.”

With the experience they have, Schrader is hopeful her team can vie for the 4A Grand Canyon Region title, a crown held by city rival Flagstaff High for the past several seasons.

“I’m hoping to compete with Flag High for that top spot,” she said. “They have that consistency of staying on top and in the past we usually stayed right behind them.”

In recent years, Schrader said the series with Flagstaff has been one-sided with the Eagles dominating Coconino. But on Jan. 19, the Panthers showed a different side as they fought tooth and nail before coming up short 42-38.

“Losing by four is definitely an improvement in my eyes,” Schrader said. “I know that the girls really, really wanted to win and they were hungry for that win because they’re tired of losing by 20, 30 points.”

And although they came up a tad short, Schrader said there were some positives they took from that contest.

“I think it’s shown how far we’ve come and I’m proud of them,” she said. “They know they can compete and I think in the past they would have laid down a little bit but this time they were ready for the battle and they definitely put up a good fight.”

Following that loss, Coconino bounced back with a 47-37 win over Peoria to even its record to 1-1 overall last Thursday. Since then the Panthers have been on a one-week hiatus as the recent snowstorms postponed their league games with Kingman Lee Williams and Prescott.

Coconino will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain, a team that is expected to contend for the league crown.

“They’re always insanely athletic and they always have good pieces,” Schroder said.

Despite the season being shortened due to the pandemic, Schrader said she’s surprised they were able to schedule 15 games this season. In addition, she said she’s grateful the Arizona Interscholastic Association reversed an earlier decision to cancel winter sports.

“In the past we usually have upwards of 25 to 30 games in a season, which included tournaments,” she said. “We’re not allowed to have those tournaments but I’m definitely happy we were able to fit that many games in.

“At least the girls get to play and have somewhat of a normal season under these circumstances,” she added. “I’m just so happy for them because obviously they have faced a good amount of adversity already. We’re just trying to follow protocol like every team in the state to have a season.”

Of the 15 games, nine of those contests will be against Grand Canyon Region foes. Coconino also has a few non-section games on their schedule, which includes 4A teams Seton Catholic, Greenway, Thunderbird and Shadow Mountain.

“Seton Catholic is so well known in the state for their success and coach (Karen Self) has been there 20-plus years and she obviously does a great job,” Schrader said. “It’s always fun to have them on our schedule because that’s the biggest competition that you can have in 4A in the state. We’re happy to be going over there to see how we can compete against the best team in the state.”

Besides playing those 4A teams, Coconino will also host perennial 3A powerhouse Page on Feb. 27.

“We always enjoy having Page over,” Schrader said. “Page is a pretty big name in 3A division and I’m definitely excited about having all of them on our schedule.”


About The Author

Quentin Jodie

Quentin Jodie is the Sports Editor for the Navajo Times. He started working for the Navajo Times in February 2010 and was promoted to the Sports Editor position at the end of summer in 2012. Previously, he wrote for the Gallup Independent. Reach him at qjodie@navajotimes.com

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