Lady Tigers lean on varsity experience
Lady Tigers senior point guard Shylah Dalka (with ball) looks for an open teammate during scrimmage action at a resent preseason practice. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
It was a season of highs and lows last year for the St. Regis girls basketball team, a situation they hope to reconcile this year.
Not only do they return a solid group of experienced varsity players, but they also welcome back a trio of outstanding players who missed all of last season due to injury.
Leading the group of returnees for head coach Tyler Cheesman is senior point guard extraordinaire Shylah Dalka, who has been a key floor general and scoring while running the Lady Tigers offense most of the past two seasons.
Dalka will be joined by a solid group of players, including juniors Averie Burnham (post), speedy junior forward Jamie Cleveland and junior guard/forward Shelby Simkins.
Back from last season are junior guard Shannon Todd, junior forward Emma Gillette, junior guard Lilly Sansom, senior guard Kiersten Trayer and freshman forward Khila Teeters.
The long list of returnees and the varsity experience they bring have Cheesman optimistic about the team’s season ahead.
“Having returning players brings familiarity with team strategies and the ability to anticipate each other’s movements on the court,” Cheesman said. “These players should be able to support and care for each other both on and off the court. We have some incredible, fast, athletic girls this year”.
Cheesman and assistant coach Kate Cleveland say they will focus this year on sharpening their offensive execution, controlling the boards and maintaining composure in tough moments. They also plan on working on playing relentless defense, causing turnovers and converting them into points on the offensive end.
As with the boys, the girls will be playing in the combined 13C, which is a merger of 14C and 13C conferences from last year. Cheesman cited teams in the new conference like always tough Charlo, Granite and Seeley as presenting tough new challenges.
“As we gear up for the season, I couldn’t be more excited about the potential of this team,” Cheesman said. “With a strong group of returning players and resilience we are already shaping up to make these set up apart on the court”.
Cheesman continued, “This season isn’t just about wins and losses, it’s about pushing ourselves, growing as a team and setting a standard of excellence for St. Regis basketball. I’m confident this group has what it takes to make an impact in our new district”.