Lady Buffs hope advantage in speed, size translates to wins

The Lady Buffs are back in the gym. Eighteen strong, they are getting in shape, and although young, they display a lot of athleticism.

“We’ll try to take advantage of our speed and size,” said Coach Jeff Hunt. “We  have some really fast girls, but we also brought back a lot of size.”

Mataia Henderson returns to the floor and Coach Hunt said she “is a great shooter and was one of our leading scorers. Perla Rodriguez was an all-conference player as a freshman and was all-state this year in volleyball. They both started for us last year.”

Hunt said they have seven returning varsity players from last year. Not all of them saw a lot of playing time, but Hunt said, “they definitely know the expectations and saw what is needed to be successful.”

The first few days of practices focused on putting in the team’s offenses and defenses and focusing on some fundamental things that go with both.

“The girls are bringing a lot of energy and are pretty excited to get going,” said Hunt.

This year’s roster includes seniors Mataia Henderson and Mya Oatman; juniors Camila Acuna, Shayne Cheatham, Sherlyn Diaz-Rios, McKenzie Potter and Jasmine Rodriguez; sophomores Brooklyn Allen, Marlee Henson, Perla Rodriguez and Wyatt Whaley and freshmen Avery Allen, Nathalie Diaz-Rios, Fallon Hoffman, Caitlyn Hunt, Shelby Hunt, Angela Myers, Ashlyn Chacon.

The Lady Buffs open the season at the Coal Miner’s Classic in Wright and the Herder Classic in Glenrock.  They will play in three different venues, starting Friday in Wright with a noon matchup against the Panthers.  At 5 p.m., they will face Sundance at Twin Spruce Junior High in Gillette.

Saturday’s games will be played in Glenrock.  First up is Kaycee at 1:30 p.m., followed at 4:30 p.m. by a matchup against the hosts.

A mixture of youth, a few seasoned players, speed and some height. The opening weekend should give Hunt an opportunity to get a good look at his 18-player roster, see what they have, what they need to work on, and a look at some of the competition they will be facing this season.