Columbus East didn’t go undefeated like it did last summer, but after losing its top three girls from a sectional championship team to graduation, the Olympians did about as well as they could have hoped.
East went 17-3 during the June period in which coaches are permitted to work with their teams in practice and game settings.
The Olympians went 2-1 in the Seymour Shootout. Their lone loss came by four points to Bloomington South.
East then went 5-0 in games at Brown County. The Olympians finished their summer schedule by going 10-2 at the Vincennes Camp, with their only losses coming against teams from from Kentucky and Illinois.
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"I was pleasantly surprised," East coach Danny Brown said. "You lose your three best players, girls that have been with you for four years, it’s going to be interesting to see how we do. We basically went with eight players and really played some good basketball."
Claire Cunningham, who will be a senior, and Whitley Rankin, who will be a junior, are the two returning starters. Incoming senior Sarah Park and incoming junior Katie Dougherty also played regularly last season.
Incoming freshman Koryn Greiwe started at point guard for the Olympians this summer.
"It’s an opportunity for three people to step into the starting lineup and show what they can do, and for the most part, they’ve done that so far. It’s a good group, and they really share the basketball. We have the potential to better defensively than we were last year."
Incoming junior Olivia Linnemann also saw significant action last season, and incoming sophomore Gretchen Comer dressed varsity for the postseason. Incoming freshman point guard Albany Speer also played extensively
Megan Vetter, who will be a sophomore, also played a little at the Vincennes Camp and likely will start the season on the JV team.
"Gretchen shot the ball well, Olivia shot the ball and rebounded well, Albany handled the ball well," Brown said. "We have a good mix of good ball-handlers, good inside game, good chemistry. We’re sharing the ball."
But most of all, Brown stressed that that they had a good time.
"The kids had fun, the coaches had fun and the parents had fun," Brown said. "If you can’t have fun playing this great game of basketball, you shouldn’t be playing. It was just a fun group to be around this summer."
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This is the fourth of a six-day series recapping the summer basketball season for Bartholomew County teams. The schedule:
Monday: Columbus East boys
Tuesday: Columbus North boys
Wednesday: Hauser boys
Today: Columbus East girls
Friday: Columbus North girls
Saturday: Hauser girls
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