This year’s Lady Beacons Basketball team appears to be on the right track towards a large improvement over last year’s squad. This year’s roster includes 11 newcomers eight of which are in their first year at UMB. In an interview with second year Lady Beacon’s head coach Courtney Mattingly, Mattingly described the positive attributes of the new Lady Beacons.
“They are a very talented group”, said Mattingly. “This team is much more athletic, faster, and very enthusiastic.”
No doubt these qualities are at the heart of what looks like a largely improved team. The Lady Beacons have started off the season with three wins and only one loss, the best start the program has had since 06-07. The three wins is also one less than the team had all of last season. However Coach Mattingly is cautious in her optimisms citing the team’s youth and inexperience playing with each other as the team’s biggest determents.
“They are a young team, lots of freshman and they are going to be under a lot of pressure”, quoted Mattingly. “In order to handle it, they are going to have to mature and learn how to play together quickly.”
To that effect, the Lady Beacons do a lot of team bonding off the court, as well as sponsoring charity drives and other community service events. The hope is to facilitate friendships off the court which results in better teamwork and performance on the court.
Coach Mattingly is also counting on the experience of Senior captains Cammy Brown and sophomore Elizabeth Dow to help pull the team together. On the topic of Dow, Mattingly is impressed by what she sees.
“Elizabeth is a strong leader. She leads by example and I think her maturity and sense of responsibility will really help our young team.”
With a faster team to manage, Mattingly has switched up the game plan to fit the attributes of the new Lady Beacons.
“We have switched from a man to man defense to a 3-2 zone defense. The girls have really picked this up quite easily and it works well for them.”
Looking ahead in the season, Mattingly is confident that the team will improve as the season progresses stating that “10 or 11 wins is well within this team’s ability, but a young team needs time to coalesce”, said Mattingly. “We work hard and improve a little every day.”
Averaging almost 58 points per game, this Beacon squad is not only more offensively explosive, but makes last years team seem like a distant memory. After a rough rookie season, Mattingly has learned a lot, not only from her team, but what it takes to be a successful head coach. Surely, the only way for the Lady Beacons is up and it seems like Mattingly has them in the right direction.