Team Preview
Written by: Sven Alskog
Three seasons in a row with three victories meant the cupboard was fairly bare when new Buhl girls basketball Head Coach Brittanie Toone took over prior to last season. Under the new leadership, the Lady Indians were able to more than double their win total, taking seven games on the season.
Plenty of players return from what was a youthful bunch last year, meaning Toone will have a better knowledge of what she has at her disposal and how to best utilize it.
“We have a lot of returners and this is my second year with the team so they will know what to expect,” said Toone. “They are competitive and eager to learn more about the game. The girls get along with each other on and off the court.”
Leading the way for Buhl this season will be 5’9” senior forward Natalie Morse. It will be another year with one of the Morse girls leading the way after the successful career of Amy and her All-Conference honors came to an end following graduation.
Size should not be an issue for the Lady Indians this year, with 5’11” senior post Megahn Bohling and 5’10” junior post Madison Amoth both returning along with Morse.
Teams will try to get Buhl in a position where the interior players have to possess the ball, forcing turnovers in the process.
To negate this issue, the Lady Indians will need to find a true point guard to lead the way this season. The most likely candidates to handle the ball for the majority of the possessions will be seniors Haley Gorrell and Kennedy Bowman.
Ball movement was much improved for Buhl last year, something which is expected to be even better after another full summer of working with Toone and her coaching staff.
The Lady Indians have the unfortunate fate of being in the same conference as the reigning state champion Filer Wildcats, a team which looks primed to follow up on their success of last year. Also residing in the 3A Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference are Gooding and Kimberly.
Toone formerly coached at Gooding, meaning a natural rivalry has been created on the hardwood between the schools. The two sides split the season series last year.
To continue trying to build up the program to the level she thinks it can be, Toone mixes up the offensive and defensive looks throughout games, never allowing the opposition to become comfortable. This method will become more successful as more talent is developed at Buhl.
Things look to be improving in the second year of the Toone era inside the gym at Buhl, with the girls team hoping to develop a program similar to the boys one which won the state championship in thrilling fashion over Homedale last season.
|