The South Hardin girls basketball team finished 6-16 this season, a year Head Coach Nick Eller says got off to a slow start. However, improvement could be on the horizon due to the team only losing one senior.
Eller on senior center Clara Below, a second-team NICL-West selection.
“She has just progressed into a really nice player for us this year,” Eller says. “I was really bummed I didn’t get to see her play more games this year in district play. I would have liked to have won that game, she really kind of hit her stride, finishing down low, rebounding down low, kind of being a presence down there. Over the four years, just really progressed into a nice player and had her best year of scoring blocks, rebounds, you name it. So just a really good year for her and we’ll definitely miss her just her presence down there as a whole. There’s sometimes those post-type players that don’t get the credit they deserve. You don’t notice them till they’re gone.”
Below led the team in rebounds and was an efficient scorer at 45 percent shooting.
Four starters and several bench players are expected back next year, including junior Alli Sheldahl, a second-team all-conference selection who led the team with 12.2 points per game. Eller hopes some late-season improvement can translate into next season.
“We’ve got everyone back but one player, and it’s a loss of Clara, no doubt about it, but I think we got other girls who can step up too. So it’s definitely exciting, really excited for what we’ve got in the future, not just next year, but years to come. I say that with a grain of salt, but it’s just gonna depend on how much we can transition from this year, learn from this year, and take the things we figured out that we struggled with this year, had problems with this year, and if we can correct those for next year.”
The team went 3-5 in the NICL-West.
