Announcement
Cardinals looking to improve on last year
Cardinals looking to improve on last year Even though Thomas lost two of its top three scorers from last season to graduation, seventh-year coach Laurie Barr expects her team to be much-improved.
The Cardinals, who open Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Dublin Scioto, finished 7-15 overall and went 5-9 in the OCC-Central to place sixth behind champion Upper Arlington (13-1). "We are more experienced at this point in the season than we were a year ago," Barr said. "We want to improve on what we did last year and we want to compete with every team every time we step on the court."
The Cardinals, who begin league play Dec. 5 at home against Olentangy Liberty, have returned three starters in senior Jordan Fischbach (5-4, guard), junior Martrina Parks (5-9, guard/forward) and sophomore Jada Sleet (5-4, guard) and have a fourth player with starting experience in Taute.
Fischbach is the only senior on the roster.
"Jordan will be a four-year letterwinner and she provides leadership on and off the court," Barr said. "She is a tough defender and is the glue in keeping our team together. She's such a leader that she was voted captain as a junior and again this year."
Last season, Sleet led the team in scoring (12.7) and was honorable mention all-district and second-team all-league, and Parks averaged 7.2 rebounds.
"Jada has spent a lot of time working on her game fundamentally," Barr said. "She uses her speed and toughness when on defense and can attack on offense. Martrina ... is a solid defender and communicates well with her teammates on the court."
Three other letterwinners have returned in junior Carly Coleman (5-8, guard/forward) and sophomores Hannah Ong (5-4, guard) and Jenna Rao (5-8, guard). Also competing for playing time are junior Tomara Drane (5-2, guard) and freshmen Rose Arkus (5-11, guard/forward) and Jazzlynn Gaiters (5-9, forward).
"All our players will have opportunities to contribute," Barr said. "We lack size, so we must use our speed and quickness."
The Cardinals lost two key players from a year ago in Jenna Andersen and Laura Gomez.
Andersen, a 6-1 forward, averaged 7.7 points and seven rebounds and was honorable mention all-league. Gomez, a guard, averaged 7.9 points and 2.4 assists and made honorable mention all-district and special mention all-league.
