By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After improving upon their previous record in a 4-16 campaign, the Solomon girl’s basketball team will look to continue trending in the right direction ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Luke Riordan returns for his second season as head coach of the Lady Gorillas.
While Solomon will be exceptionally young once again with just one senior in the rotation, this year’s squad comes back with a lot more experience than it did a year ago, and will be ready to roll with a lineup that should look like this on Friday.
G- Emersyn Shirack (Jr)
G- Elise Baier (Sr)
G- Lacie McLaughlin (Jr)
F- Maya Newcomer (Jr)
F- Payton Ballou (So)
The Lady Gorillas will also look to the bench for big minutes out of junior Kiera Smith, as well as sophomores Kilynne McCook, Caylee Cook, and Madison Sudermann.
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Riordan and get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: When you had a chance to look back on it, what were your overall thoughts on last season?
A: Last season was a success. I accomplished my goal of having the girls walk away with more knowledge of the sport and a better feeling toward it. Now it’s time to make sure we don’t take any steps backwards and keep our eyes forward.
Q: Entering this year, what would you say are the biggest known strengths of your team?
A: The biggest known strength of our team is the knowledge they can build upon from last year. We are not starting from scratch, the girls are ready and want to have more success this year and are willing to put in the effort.
Q: What are the biggest looming questions or challenges that you’ll look to sort out in these first few weeks?
A: Unfortunately we have lost Taytum Anderson for much of the season due to a volleyball injury, and we are looking for someone to step up and fill her shoes.
Q: What are the biggest goals and expectations for this group heading into the new season?
A: We are still a very young team, so our goals are still to grow and be competitive in every game we play. This team is made up of an incredible group of girls, and they know they are the building blocks for years to come in this program.
The Lady Gorillas open their season in Solomon with a home game against Burrton this Friday.