By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Abilene girls basketball team will be looking to bounce back after a 5-14 finish to the 2020-21 season.
The Cowgirls will be led once again by Mike Liby, who returns for his third season at the helm.
Abilene returns a loaded senior class that will anchor this veteran-heavy lineup come tip-off.
G- Joy Clemence (Sr)
G- Alice Bathurst (Sr)
G- Sammy Stout (So)
F- Jenna Hayes (Sr)
F- Claira Dannefer (So)
The Cowgirls will also look for big minutes off the bench from Lexi Barnes, Callie Powell, Zoey Debenham, and Grace Randles.
Ahead of the first game, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Liby to get his thoughts on the new season.
Q: Overall, what were your thoughts on the 2020-21 season?
A: “It was a difficult year for us but I think under the circumstances the girls tried as hard as they could and we competed in a lot of our games. It was a season that we learned a lot from and we’re hoping that creates more energy for this season.
Q: How excited are you guys to be back to a relative normal?
A: “We’re pumped. We’ve had a chance to do a lot of things off the court that we didn’t get a chance to do last year and the girls are anxious to get to it.”
Q: What would you say is the biggest strength of this year’s team.
A: “Our strength is in the teamwork that we’ve developed in practice and I think that will translate to the court. We’ve had good energy in practices this year.”
Q: What are the biggest question marks you still have coming into the first few games?
A: “Our strength has been our defense but we still need to find where our points are going to come from and establish our identity on the offensive side of the floor. It may take us some time but I think the team will have the ability to narrow that down.”
Q: What are some of the goals that this team has set out for themselves this season?
A: “They definitely want to compete for the title and we want to be well over .500 and in every game. If we don’t win a game we want the team we played to think ‘wow, we don’t want to play them again, they really gave us a run”
The Cowgirls will open their season on Friday, December third when they take on the Smoky Valley Vikings.
For more on Abilene hoops, stay tuned to the Salina Post.