Influx of sophomores has city teams stoked

Free State High has three starters returning, including three-sport standout Jamie Stanclift, but that’s not the only reason FSHS girls basketball coach Bryan Duncan thinks the Firebirds will improve on last year’s 8-12 mark.

The city has a solid crop of sophomores this season, and many of the most promising members of that class will be at Free State.

“I think West and Southwest had two losses between them,” Duncan said of last year’s freshmen teams. “We have an excellent sophomore class, and our expectations are high. None of them are proven on the varsity level, but it will be the most talented team we’ve had in awhile.”

While the sophomores are unproven, Stanclift, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, gives Free State a veteran leader who averaged 13 points and 7.2 rebounds a year ago. Junior shooting guard Tricia Dunham also is a returning starter.

Junior forward Banaka Okwuone (5-10), a part-time starter who led the Sunflower League with 9.2 rebounds a game, is expected to replace graduate Jenny Gwaltney in the post.

Free State also must replace point guard Wallis Romzek, but Duncan has that covered.

“Lauren Kimball has been very impressive at point guard,” Duncan said of the sophomore. “She’s extremely athletic and handles the ball well. She’s strong, athletic, fast, and she can shoot.”

Senior letterwinner Chloe Hall should play at both guard spots behind Hall and Dunham.

Two other sophomores — Kelsey Harrison (5-11) and Jenna Brantley (5-10) — will compete for playing time at small forward with junior letterwinner Sarah Heider (5-8).

“They’ve both been impressive early on, and both will play right away,” said Duncan, who also expects sophomore guard Allie Hoch and sophomore post Jessica Scott to contribute.

Seabury's Laura Frizell, left, Free State's Jamie Stanclift, center, and Lawrence High's Lacey Elmore will tip off their senior girls basketball seasons this week. Seabury and LHS will open Thursday; Free State's season will begin Friday.

Free State opens the season Friday at Washburn Rural.

Lawrence High

LHS also has a promising sophomore, but guard Alex Harvey has been slowed by a foot injury in preseason practices.

“We could be asking some sophomores to fill some roles,” coach Kristin Mallory said. “It’s a big jump from freshman to sophomore. They’re coming along, but right now we’re not counting on anybody.”

Senior post player Megan Klingler and junior point guard Drew Huff are the only returning starters from last year’s 14-8 squad, but Mallory has experienced players to fill the gaps.

Junior shooting guard Sydney Wilson will join Huff in the backcourt, while senior Lacey Elmore and junior Kayla Nolte are the projected starters at forward.

Conditioning and staying out of foul trouble will be vital for the Lions, who lack depth. Senior post player Erin Kramer is out indefinitely because of a knee injury.

“We’re not very deep,” said Mallory, who will bring junior forward Lindsey Lawrence and senior guard Shannon Worley off the bench. “We played a lot of zone last year. We don’t want to do that. We’d like to play man-to-man, so we have to be in better shape.

“Megan’s our only solid post player size-wise. We might have to play some zone to protect her, but we’d like to play more man-to-man. If we can stay out of foul trouble and have our top seven or eight playing the majority of the minutes, I think we’ll be OK.”

Lawrence opens the season Thursday at Overland Park Aquinas.

Seabury Academy

Seabury won’t be at full strength until after winter break when transfer guard-forward Regan Sisson becomes eligible.

That hasn’t dampened the optimism of first-year coach Nick Taylor.

“I think everything is going great,” Taylor said. “I think it’s going to be a good year for us.”

The Seahawks will have size in the frontcourt with senior forwards Laura Frizell (5-10) and Linaya Newstrom (5-10) and sophomore center Molly Thurman (5-11).

The projected starters in the backcourt are junior point guard Laura Hoffman and sophomore shooting guard Erica Hierl.

Sophomores Jen Crawford and Lane Frizell and freshman Miranda Birch are expected to be Seabury’s top reserves.

Seabury opens the season at the Burlingame tournament, starting with Thursday’s game against Kansas School for the Deaf.