By Paul Gable/For Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — In his fourth season at the helm, Greenfield-Central girls basketball coach Bradley Key enters with a young team, but he sees a lot of positives with his 2021-22 Cougars.
“We are going to be young, sometimes very young,” said Key, who is 25-40 at Greenfield-Central and carries a 153-116 career record.
Leading the way this season will be junior Aryana Hibbard, who averaged 6.2 points per game. Joining her will be juniors Sky Sparks and Taylor Smith, each of whom averaged 2.1 points per game.
Key also mentioned that he is leaning on senior Annan Tiede, who averaged 1.3 points per game, and senior Audrey Pechin. Two newcomers Key singled out are freshmen guards Chaney Brown and Brooklyn McConnell.
While the roster may be thin on experience and statistical prowess, Key believes it could create some good things for Greenfield-Central.
“Being young can have its advantages. There is so much to learn, so early on I think some of their heads have been spinning, but I do believe our program has so much potential for growth. We have a chance to mold our program into what we want with these young kids that have a huge part in that process. They work hard and are super competitive. I think that it can be a recipe for success if they stick with it,” Key said.
A season ago, COVID-19 wrecked Greenfield-Central’s season, as Key’s team finished with a 5-14 record and missed out on competing in the sectional tournament.
“Last year was an extremely tough year for our program. It felt like as we started to turn the corner — just before Christmas — we got knocked out with COVID (quarantines) for the entire break. That’s two weeks of practices that the team needed. After that, it just felt like one blow after another. My best two players, Addie Hill and Brookelyn Herrell, didn’t play in a game together again. That was hard to overcome for us. Add in several others in-and-out of the lineup,” Key said.
In addition to Hill and Herrell, Greenfield-Central also lost Zoe Solis and Caroline Gibson to graduation.
OVERSET FOLLOWS:“They all played a ton of minutes for us last year,” Key said.
Despite the challenges, Key believes playing in a season that was ruined by quarantines could have a positive impact on his team.
“I think it can help because the older kids now understand at any moment your number can be called upon to play varsity. Last year, we had some lineups on the floor nobody would have anticipated,” Key said.
With the season opener this week against Greenwood tonight, Key has high hopes for his youg team.
“Our goals are always to continue to try to get better each week and be a better team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning. As long as we stay away from injuries, I think there is a lot of growth potential for this team,” Key said.
And, that includes a run at a sectional.
However, Key understands what stands in their way this winter, noting that each team in the sectional are favored to win after the Cougars were forced to withdraw from last year’s tournament.
“We didn’t even get to play in the sectional last year because of COVID. New Palestine has been great the last couple of years. Mt. Vernon graduated a lot but will still be great, and Pendleton (Heights) seems to reload each and every year. We understand we are probably below all of those teams at this point, but that is why you practice and put in the offseason work, so we can compete with those programs,” Key said.
2021-22 Greenfield-Central Girls Basketball Roster
No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.
1 Jalyn Smith G 5-5 Fr.
2 Brooklyn McConnell G 5-3 Fr.
4 Annan Tiede G 5-9 Sr.
5 Schuyler Sparks F 5-10 Jr.
11 Addi Herrin G 5-3 Fr.
12 Chaney Brown G 5-9 Fr.
13 Aryana Hibbard G 5-5 Jr.
15 Kynsey Hasty G 5-4 Fr.
20 Josie White G 5-4 Fr.
23 Audrey Pechin F 5-9 Sr.
24 Taylor Smith G 5-3 Jr.
31 Kammi Anderson G 5-5 Jr.
32 Emma Nelson F 5-11 Fr.
Head Coach: Bradley Key (25-40 in 4th year at school, 153-116 career record)
Varsity Assistant Coach: Katie Helgason
Junior Varsity Head Coach: Meghan Dawson
JV Assistant Coach: Rheanna Wolfgang
Volunteer Coach: Bruce Cook
