High school hoops preview: Young supporting cast will be key for Lady Cougars

Head coach: Steve Poindexter (11th season)

Last season: 13-15, lost to Arlington in region quarterfinals

Starters lost: 1

Starters returning: 4

Players to watch: G Maiya Reed, G Ciara Spence, G Brezia Cooper, G Abby Haun

When the Lady Cougars hit the court this season, longtime head coach Steve Poindexter isn’t making any predictions, but he’s optimistic.

“I like what we’ve got,” Poindexter said, “but it’s hard to predict with a team this young.”

The main reason for the coach’s optimism is the return of senior point guard Maiya Reed.

A starter since her sophomore season and the team’s leading scorer the last two years (17 points per game in 2019-2020), Reed is a lightning-quick point guard who can penetrate and knock down the 3-point shot.

Last season Reed and Mary Richardson did most of the ball handling. With Richardson at Dyersburg State now, Reed will be leaned on even more and some other players will have to mature quickly.

Brezia Cooper hit the ground running last season as a freshman and showed the ability to get hot from 3-point range.

Abby Haun is another sophomore who figures to see more playing time this season.

Senior Ciara Spence, who is also a standout soccer player, saw her role increase last year and will be needed to take it another level this season.

Munford struggled two seasons ago but clearly took a step forward last year.

How quickly Reed’s supporting cast matures will likely determine how far this team will go.

Poindexter said district foes Dyer County and Hardin County both return a lot of talent.

“We’re still a really young team,” Poindexter said. “We have a lot of high-character players, though, who are very coachable. We’ll just have to see. We have several freshmen and sophomores who are still works in progress.”