CENTERVILLE. Ind. – After a few weeks of practice, Centerville Head Coach Jason Searcy feels his team is ready to begin the season.
“I feel like our group is ready for the challenge,” Searcy said. “They’ve had a really good couple of weeks.”
“They’ve had a lot of stuff thrown at them,” Searcy continued. “They are ready to play a game.”
The Bulldogs open the season at Alexandria on Saturday, Nov. 7.
“It’s a non-conference game and it gives us an opportunity to see where we are,” Searcy said.
The Tigers have a new coach, Greg Warren, so Searcy feels that this matchup will help his squad develop, but he doesn’t know what to expect from their opponent.
“We’re talking about how to adjust on the fly and understand what defenses are trying to do,” Searcy said of his team’s pre-season preparation.
Merissa Ross, Kaylin Smith, Lauren Honkomp, Maggie Curts and Madilyn Coomes are the seniors for the Bulldogs, who were 6-17 a year ago and 4-3 in the Tri-Eastern Conference.
“We have a pretty good mix with three seniors back that have a lot of experience,” Searcy said. “Our seniors a doing a good job of leading them in the right direction.”
Ross was an All-TEC performer last year with a scoring average of 8.1 per game. Smith had 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Honkomp scored 4.4 points a game adding 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per outing.
Also on the roster is junior Emily Willis along with sophomores Alex McFarland, Savanna Kates, Mackenzie Tipton and Cassidy Weiss.
Centerville’s initial TEC contest is at home with Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 24. “Our conference is going to be pretty competitive like it usually is,” Searcy said.