Columbus East will have a young girls basketball team this season with no seniors on the roster.
But that certainly doesn’t mean the Olympians will be without experience. Ten players who saw varsity action last season return to try to help them improve on a 16-8 record that included a 5-2 mark in the Hoosier Hills Conference.
“The good thing is, we’ve had everybody there (at practice),” East coach Danny Brown said. “We worked on three things we always try to work on — fundamentals, conditioning and team play. The girls are working hard. We’re trying to get in good condition and trying to execute our system, and so far, we’re pretty pleased.”
Back to lead the Olympians is 5-foot-9 junior point guard Koryn Griewe. Greiwe led East with 21.2 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals a game last season in earning The Republic Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.
“She’s our leader now,” Brown said. “We don’t have a senior in the program, so she’s taking over that role of leadership. She’s a scorer, but she’s distributing the ball very well in practice. She’s just a rare combination of all skills, and we think she’s one of the best guards in the state of Indiana. We think she should be a Junior All-Star.”
The Olympians also figure to have a solid inside game, led by 6-4 sophomore Gabby Dean. Dean emerged as a freshman last season, averaging 7.1 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds.
“I just think she’s stronger,” Brown said. “Her footwork is better. Her inside game is even better, and she can hit the 15-foot jump shot, also. We’ve been working on all of her skills, and she’s improved quite a bit.”
Saige Stahl (7.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Leah Bachmann (3.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg), a pair of 6-0 sophomores, shared a starting frontcourt spot last season. Emma Jenkins (3.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg), a 5-9 sophomore, also saw significant action.
“We got some quality minutes last year out of our freshman group,” Brown said. “They gained some valuable experience. They were our four leading rebounders for the season. It’s unusual to have that much experience coming into your sophomore year.”
Albany Speer, a 5-5 junior, is entering her third year of varsity basketball. Brielle Stevens, a 6-0 sophomore, along with 5-6 sophomore Heidi Murphy, 6-2 junior Kaitlyn Carothers and 5-7 sophomore Allison Craig split time between varsity and JV last season.
Maeleigh Roberts, a 5-5 sophomore, moves up to varsity. Also pushing for varsity spots are 5-8 freshman Jenna Guse, 6-2 junior Harley Gant and 5-2 sophomore Hallie Randle.
“That’s kind of our core group,” Brown said. “The combination of JV/varsity time hasn’t been determined yet. We’re still working it out, but the competition has been as good as we’ve had in years. That’s a combination of skills and a lot of battles going on. From what I’ve seen in practice, I think we have a good balance of skills at each position.”
Gone from last year’s schedule are Southport, Connersville and Greensburg. In their place, East will play perennial powers Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern in the Hamilton Southeastern Classic on Nov. 14.
“We wanted to beef up the schedule a little bit, and you can’t get much more competition in Games 3 and 4,” Brown said.
The Olympians’ first five games will be on the road. They open Saturday at Floyd Central and will travel to Bloomington South on Nov. 12 and Brown County on Nov. 17.
East’s first home game is Nov. 19 against East Central, the team that beat the Olympians in last year’s sectional final.
“We’re going to have to grow up real quick. We have a young team. They’ve been battle-tested a little bit, but we still have a lot of sophomores and juniors in the program. But it’s only going to make us better. I’ve always wanted to play the top competition since I’ve been at Columbus East. Our conference is always one of the top in the state, and it will be no different this year.”
The 2019-20 Columbus East girls basketball schedule:
Saturday;at Floyd Central;1:30 p.m.
Nov. 12;at Bloomington South;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14;vs. Fishers in Hamilton Southeastern Classic;TBA
Nov. 14;vs. Hamilton Southeastern in HSE Classic, TBA
Nov. 17;at Brown County;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 19;East Central;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 24;Brownstown Central;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28;at Mooresville;12:30 p.m.
Dec. 1;Bloomington North;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 8;Martinsville;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 12;at Jeffersonville;1:30 p.m.
Dec. 17;Columbus North;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 22;Lawrenceburg;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 2;at Eastern (Pekin);7:30 p.m.
Jan. 7;Seymour;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 12;Bedford North Lawrence;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16;at New Albany;1:30 p.m.
Jan. 21;Jennings County;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23;Madison;1:30 p.m.
Jan. 26;Batesville;7:30 p.m.
