Lady Outlaws plan to play fast style of hoops

The Lady Outlaws return eight players to the varsity basketball squad, including Shae Wyland, Audrey Corcoran, Jorja Christianson, Paityn Cotner, Norah Thorsett, Emma Sahlberg, Holly Madron, and Althea Crabtree. Two new players, freshmen Maddie Durham and Verbena Brent, will round out the roster.

Wyland, a senior, was a first-team, all-league selection last year. She returns for her final season.

“Shae is an outstanding all-around athlete,” said Coach Paul Patton. “She’s tall and fast and her role on the team is to lead the fast break and work around the basket for inside shots and offensive rebounds. She is our top inside defender and a prolific shot blocker. She has a great attitude, is always positive, and is a hard worker.”

Sophomore Corcoran was a second-team, all-league pick last year as a freshman.

“Audrey is a great athlete, and a very fast and skilled basketball player,” said Patton. “She is our point guard and is good at driving the ball to the basket. She is also one of our better three-point shooters. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds by just going after the ball. With a year of experience under her belt she should be even better this season at initiating our offensive system and being a disruptive force on defense.”

Christianson was the Outlaws first player off the bench last year, and will step into a starting role this year.

“Jorja is our most vocal team leader,” said Patton. “She will fill the role of a three-point shooting threat, but she also has a solid all-around game. She’s a joyous person who has an infectious positive impact on the team culture.”

Of Cotner Patton said, “Paityn is a perimeter player, and one of our best on-ball defenders. She’s a good athlete and a rapidly improving basketball player. She’s a tough competitor and a hard worker.”

Thorsett, a junior, was the junior point guard last year and a backup on varsity.

“Norah will continue to be the varsity back-up point guard, but will also see time at the shooting guard spot,” said Patton. “She has a nice three-point shot, can penetrate and create as well, and has a good competitive spirit.”

Sahlberg (senior) previously played as a post, but this year will be asked to move to a perimeter spot to fill a team need.

“Emma gives us a determined defender off the bench,” said Patton. “For such a sweet girl off the court, she is a feisty competitor on the court. She’s a great leader by example in how hard she works in practice.”

Madron, a senior, plays as a wing for the Outlaws. Patton noted that Holly has a great mind for the game, runs the court hard, and defends well.

Crabtree (sophomore) played JV most of last year, but did swing up to varsity late in the season and into playoffs.

“Althea will back up Shae as our running post player,” said Patton. “She’s tall and athletic, and has a great positive attitude with a colorful outgoing personality.”

New to varsity this year are freshmen Maddie Durham and Verbena Brent.

“Maddie will play what we call the Dragon, which is our perimeter big position who touches the ball a lot,” said Patton. “Maddie has a true love for the game and has put a lot of time into playing basketball. She will be one of those rare impact players at the varsity level as a ninth grader. She is able to score inside and out and is solid on the defensive end of the court as well.

“Verbena is another incoming impact player,” said Patton. “She is a hooper to her core, and will play wing for us. She’s a crafty scoring threat and a hard nosed defender. Her love for the game and joy in playing has an infectious impact on the whole team.”

Sophomore Shanitah Few and freshman Stella Moen are in Patton’s sights to be players who will come up from JV later in the season and help out at the varsity level.

Few is a very good athlete, plays extremely hard, and will start on JV. She should swing up at some point, but according to Patton will benefit from being one of the the leaders on the JV squad.

Moen is a shooting guard, and also a hard worker. Patton told The Nugget that Stella is an eager learner of the game, and should see some varsity minutes later in the season after gaining some experience at the JV level.

Patton told The Nugget that the Lady Outlaws are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history as they made it to the second round of the state playoffs last year.

“We have three graduating seniors starting positions to fill,” said Patton. “We have a good mix of upper and underclassmen, with four seniors, a junior, three sophomores, and two freshmen. So we are relatively young, but a talented group who should be able to come together with some practice and compete on a level par with last year’s team.”

“Key to our success will be our commitment to playing a fast-paced style of basketball that is aggressive on the offensive end of the court and disruptive defensively,” added Patton. “We are running this system of play for the third year now and that familiarity by the returning players should help us to execute it effectively.”

Patton noted that both assistant coaches are also back. Haylie Hudson, a Sisters graduate and former Lady Outlaw, and Ashley Reiser, who played at the collegiate level, will also be a benefit to the team as they are familiar with Patton’s style of play.

“This is the first time in my six years with the program that we’ve returned the same coaching staff,” said Patton. “I’m optimistic about the upcoming season, but we will have to endure some inevitable struggles along the way and keep our spirits and belief in one another. This is a great group of girls and I believe they are up for the challenge.”