Team Preview: Grandview Lady Bulldogs
The Grandview Lady Bulldogs head into the 2019 – 2020 season full of optimism and confidence that they will improve on their 17-10 overall record a season ago. Playing in the tough Suburban Small Six (Blue) Conference, the Lady Bulldogs…
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Continue ReadingThe Grandview Lady Bulldogs head into the 2019 – 2020 season full of optimism and confidence that they will improve on their 17-10 overall record a season ago. Playing in the tough Suburban Small Six (Blue) Conference, the Lady Bulldogs will rely heavily on standout guard Cierra Smith, as well as 3 returning starters.
Leading the Lady Bulldogs from the sideline is third-year Coach Heath Cooper. He will use his 8 years of coaching experience which included time coaching the boys’ teams at both Harmon high school and Baldwin High school on the Kansas side.
TOP RETURNERS
Cierra Smith (So.) 5’7 Guard – The class 4 1st team All-Conference, All-District selection
Photo courtesy Nyree D Smithlast returns for the Lady Bulldogs, ready to lead her team this season. The 18.6 ppg, 4 Reb, and 4 Stl perform will look to improve upon those numbers. Cierra excels on both ends of the floor. Her elite level on-ball defense along with her above-average defensive IQ, allows her to give the player she is guarding problems. Cierra can handle it well enough to create for herself or her teammates. She plays with high energy and can take over a game if needed.
Oriyanna Barnes (Jr.) 5’4 Guard – Playing the lead guard, Oriyanna has great court vision off the bounce. She plays strong with the ball and attacks the basket well. Oriyanna uses her quickness and size to advantage when getting to the basket. Her ability to finish through contact is solid.
Chante’ Crusoe (Sr.) 5’10 Guard – A diamond in the rough, Chante’ is a big guard that has deceptive quickness. At 5’10 she can beat post players off the dribble. Chante’ rebounds well and finishes just about everything in the paint. She has a solid jump shot from the mid-range on catch and shoot situations or from three. Chante’ has above-average handles which give her the advantage against slower post players trying to guard her.
Photo courtesy of HUDLArrianna Smith (Sr.) 6’1 Forward – A solid defender with excellent timing when blocking shots. Arrianna finishes well at the rim both on the break and in the half-court. She is both quick off her feet and has excellent hands especially in the paint with defenders around her. Arrianna can handle it very well which allows her to play fast and beat her defender off the dribble.
De’Ja Outley (Sr.) 5’5 Guard – The senior transfer will be a welcome addition for the Lady Bulldogs. De’Ja is a solid defender, both on the ball and as a help defender. She gets after it on the boards even at being undersized, using her quickness and strength. De’Ja is one of those ‘glue’ players that does all of the small things to help her team win.
“We return 4 starters from our 2018 – 2019 squad that went 17-10 overall and 7-5 (3rd in conference) in the Suburban Small Six (Blue) Conference, we also will ad De’Ja Outley to our line-up after she transferred in. This will give us three senior starters set to return and we will need them to lead a young and talented core of young Lady Bulldogs. We have a very skilled group of freshmen who have definitely impressed in our preseason workouts. I believe with our veteran players returning, we should click earlier than usual.” Coach Heath Cooper – Grandview Lady Bulldogs