Summer experience should pay dividends for WP girls

    While the Wauneta-Palisade girls’ basketball team doesn’t have a lot of depth, there will be plenty of experience on the floor.
    Senior Alexa Sandman, junior Cali Cox and sophomore Peyton Cox return as starters for Matt Cox’s Bronco squad.
    Junior Chloe Stehno and GraCee Goings return as letterwinners.
    “The amount of basketball that my starting five has played in the last year, especially over the summer between our team stuff and their club team will pay huge dividends for us,” Cox said, adding there just isn’t a lot of situations they haven’t seen.
    Overall, 16 players reported for the season and Cox expects a solid rotation of eight players..
    Cox likes that size of roster.
    “It’s fun to be able to have three teams of five, it makes some of our drills work really well,” Cox said.
    That being said, a lot of the girls are young with very little experience so depth could be an issue at times, he added.
    Sandman and C. Cox have been leaders in practice.
    “They want to show up and compete in practice everyday and when those two are doing it, everyone else gets really serious and our scrimmages are fun,” Cox said.
    “I think the intensity of our scrimmages are going to translate to good things once this season gets underway.”
    Never one to shy away from long rang shots, Cox expects his guards to take and make a lot of baskets.
    “My guards have spent a ton of time shooting and they can really sling it when they get in rhythm,” he said.
    P. Cox returns as last season’s  fourth best per game rebounder in the state to clean up any misses.
    Getting off to a good start will be important.
    The Broncos start off hosting Wallace Thursday then travel to Cambridge Friday.
    A favorite of Cox’s, the Cattle Trail Tournament in McCook will begin Dec. 7 and continue through Dec. 10 and 11.
    “It’s a great assortment of different levels of competition and it gives you a great assessment of things you need to get fixed early in the season,” Cox said.
    WP will open the tournament against Hitchcock County at 2:30 p.m. MT in the senior high gym Tuesday.
    No matter the result, the Broncos will play at 2:30 p.m. MT Friday against either Decatur Community, Kansas or Arapahoe.
    With a win over the Falcons, WP will be at the Graff Events Center on the MCC campus. With a loss, the Broncos will play at the senior high.