SPORTS PREVIEW: Fillies hoping for third trip to title game | Sports
Last year it seemed inevitable that the Cody girls basketball team would clash with Cheyenne East in the 4A state championship game.
Both teams cruised through the regular season undefeated, won their respective regional tournaments and boasted a lineup of weapons at every position.
The Fillies eventually did meet up with top-ranked East in the title game, and after 19 consecutive victories fell 51-41 to the No. 1 ranked T-Birds to finish second overall in one of the most memorable seasons in Filly history.
This year, with Cody returning the vast majority of its production from that runner-up team and a pre-season no. 1 ranking, a senior store Cody squad looks to make another historic run and earn a second shot at the coveted 4A championship trophy.
“The varsity won’t be much different this year,” coach Chris Wagner said. “We also have a strong freshman class and all around have some aggressive, athletic girls.”
The Fillies return four starters who garnered post-season recognition in All-Conference players Reece Niemann and Ally Boysen, and All-State guards Molly Hays and Kennedi Niemann.
Hays made a name for herself in her sophomore campaign, leading the 4A conference in scoring at 15.4 points per game.
She finished the season with the top scoring game in the conference with 29 points on 14 field goals in a win against Kelly Walsh, drained six triples in a matchup with Jackson for the top 3-point performance in the conference and came up with those intangible plays that coaches can’t draw up on the chalk board.
“It was a little bit tiring out there,” Hays said after Saturday’s scrimmage at CHS. “But I think this was the best scrimmage I have ever been a part of.”
The Fillies ended last season with the top defense in 4A, allowing opponents just 33 points per game and forcing 22.1 turnovers per contest.
Their average margin of victory was 23 points, and they bring back nearly all of that fire power, losing just one senior last year in Izzy Radakovich.
“Practice has been going well,” Kennedi Niemann said. “We have a lot kids out this year and it’s been tough getting some things done, but they have been good.”
She returns as the primary ball handler and brings back 11.7 points per game.
Niemann led the 4A conference in steals and finished second in assists with 4.4 per game.
“We have been doing a lot of different drills in practice,” she said. “We can go up tempo with the varsity and can keep that up if we have a couple of JV and freshmen who can play good defense.”
The challenge for the rest of the conference will be figuring out how to shut down the versatile Fillies, who can go up-tempo, score in transition or set up and execute in the half court.
“I am going to switch to more of the four this year with Izzy gone and Ally at the five,” Reece Niemann said. “We have a lot of younger girls that can help us out, and so far things have been going well.”
Reece Niemann’s production got better as the season went along, with her averaging eight points and five rebounds and finishing the year with the best 3-point percentage on the team.
Boysen’s offensive production came along in the second half of last season, and her defense and rebounding will be key for another big run.
She posted the best game in the conference in blocked shots with six against Worland, and was one of the top five rebounders in the 4A West.
“It was nice having another big with Izzy down low last year,” Boysen said. “Right now we are just trying to get more established and figure some things out.”
After Saturday’s scrimmage if an award for most improved player was handed out this early, it would go to senior Victory Buck.
“There is going to be so much emphasis on some of the other girls that Victory and Jessa Lynn will have the opportunity to make an impact,” Wagner said. “We tell all of them to be aggressive, but Victory has a year under her belt now. She knows how to play and where the shots come from.”
The Fillies take the show on the road to start out the season. They will head to Gillette this weekend for the Remax Invitational.
It is a good opportunity to face some top competition early, on their way to potentially another shot at the title.
“Big picture-wise the younger girls right now are getting a look at our transition offense and learning how to push the ball,” Wagner said. “We just go back to the film now and see where we need to improve from there.”