Girls’ basketball team changes for new year
With a 1-5 record coming back from the winter break, Tonganoxie High School girls’ basketball coach Leslie Foster has made a few changes.
The Chieftains are spending more time shooting the ball in practice. THS is shooting 33 percent from the floor on the season from in front of the arc and 17 percent beyond the three-point line.
Foster also has had more individual work with players. Different groups of six are coming in before or staying after practice.
And the playbook is thinner, as Foster has focused on a couple sets.
Throw in more conditioning to combat the vacation, and Tonganoxie has a different approach going into the new year.
“We’re conditioning a lot so we can get into shape because it seems like there’s always one quarter that kills us,” Foster said.
The most vivid example came on Dec. 18 in the second quarter against Basehor-Linwood in the team’s final game before the break. The Bobcats outscored the Chieftains 16-2 in that stanza and THS wasn’t able to recover.
At the break, senior Aimee Eisman leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 12.4 points per game and 5.8 rebounds. Seniors Keri Walker (8.6) Andrea Korb (7.8) and Alicia Stauch (5.7) also are team leaders in scoring, while Korb has the second-highest rebounding average with 4.8.
The Chieftains start the January schedule with a home game against Kaw Valley League leader Santa Fe Trail (6-0 overall and 5-0 in the KVL) on Friday. THS will then take to the road for four games and a tournament at Lawrence’s Free State High School for the rest of the month’s schedule.