The Bayfield High School girls basketball team is ready to build upon last year’s success, and second-year head coach Josh Kitchen believes the foundation for a successful program could be built this season.
Bayfield went 7-15 last season in Kitchen’s first year in charge, and the program has made leaps and bounds since the 2014-15 season, in which the Wolverines failed to win a game.
“We had good turnout again this season, and the girls have been working really hard,” he said.
“We’ve been doing some two-a-day practices and have been really working on our conditioning and refining the offensive and defensive techniques, which we started last year. We’ll be young, but I really do think we’ve got some girls who will take that next step.”
The Wolverines (0-1) opened the season Tuesday with a 75-46 loss at Navajo Prep (1-0) in Farmington.
BHS will have to find the offensive production to replace Jordan Lanning, who decided to focus on her track career for her senior year. Lanning was last year’s leading scorer at 9.6 points per game.
Kitchen said he will rely a lot on veteran players such as senior point guard Tymbree Florian, one of two seniors on the team alongside center Mikayla Barnes. Florian averaged 5.2 points per game last season.
“While Jordan is a big loss for us and we will miss her, we do have others who are definitely more than capable of filling that scoring void,” Kitchen said. “Tymbree is one of the few upperclassmen we have, so we’re really going to look for her for leadership on and off the court. We’re even seeing it now with going up and talking to the girls, encouraging them to be better and find some success out there. I think she’s going to be a huge part of our success this year, more so in terms of leadership than maybe even on the court. She’s a great passer and sees the court better than almost anyone I’ve ever coached, so I think that’s going to go a long way for us.”
Kitchen said sophomore forward Macee Schultz developed her game a lot during the summer.
“Macee has been a steady post presence for us,” Kitchen said. “I think she’s going to have a terrific year for us, so I’m really excited about her potential. Now that she’s got that year under her belt, I think it could be a breakout season for her.”
Other players Kitchen highlighted included sophomore guard Madison Wells, who Kitchen called “so steady and unfailing for us, almost like a safety.” Fellow sophomore guard Brooke Merchant returned after she played in every game last season for BHS.
The Wolverines lost two players who graduated last season in guard Tiarra Christiansen and forward Cinnamon Varnell. With a near identical team from last season, all of whom have at least one season of playing together under their belts, Kitchen is excited about what the group can do.
“We’re going to be tested right away against Navajo Prep, and we’ll be seeing some really good competition in 3A, 4A and all the way up to some small 5A teams,” Kitchen said. “That being said, it’s good for us, and it’s going to stretch us. There will be some games early on where it will be a challenge, and there are others where I really believe that we can walk away with a victory.”
The Wolverines scored an average of only 30.1 points per game last season. Getting key defensive stops is at the forefront of Kitchen’s mind. Bayfield’s opponents averaged 48.1 points per game. If the Wolverines are to make a big step forward, defense and forcing turnovers are key, Kitchen said.
“It’s always going to flex and change based on the players we’ve got, but we’re going to emphasize man-to-man defense, but it doesn’t mean we won’t play a 2-3 zone or whatever it may be,” he said. “Our focus is really the transition game and we genuinely believe that if we can compete in the transition game this year, we can compete with pretty much anybody.”
bploen@ durangoherald.com
