Basketball team prepares for a successful season

Weiser High School girls basketball is starting up again with hopes of having  another great season. The team and their coach Laraine Harrison, are hoping to build on their success of last season. 

 Last season, the Wolverines had a 30-7 record overall with a 7-3 conference record. The  season ended with the Wolverines winning  the consolation bracket of the State Tournament where they beat their league rival Parma, whom they had lost to previously during the season.

 With a good turnout for the try-outs this year, they have a total of 11 varsity players (six of which are seniors), 10 junior varsity players, and 12 frosh/soph players. 

 Included with these players are the three returning varsity players this year: Ellie Shirts, Kailee Lerew, and Kendall Rynearson. Harrison expects these three to show strong leadership throughout the season. 

 Alongside those team leaders, some upcoming players were only on JV last year and are sure to do great things this year. They also have some brand-new players ready to give this season their all.

 Coach Laraine Harrison is returning yet again this year. This will be Harrison’s fifth year as a head coach for the Weiser girl’s basketball team, and her 12th year coaching overall. 

 “I think it is important for our team to have a hard work ethic and show grit. To be successful in life you have to be willing to put in the work and push through when the going gets tough. Basketball can be similar because conditioning and practice is not always easy and fun, but if we want to be successful and win games we have to be able to prove we can do those things. We need to play with passion and perseverance,” Harrison said.

 Harrison shared that the team emphasizes hard work, grit, passion, perseverance, and having a tough hard nose defense. Harrison is hoping for nothing but the best for her players this season.

 “We understand you cannot always control whether or not your shot is falling on a day to day basis, but you can always control the effort you give when on the floor,” Harrison said.

 Some of their toughest opponents this year will be Parma, who is always a strong force that we have to contend with and McCall, who is another really strong team despite them being relatively unknown, and Fruitland, who has some really strong upcoming younger players ready to take the spotlight. However, no matter who they are playing against, whether they are good or bad, Harrison shared that they will always need to play their best and make sure not to underestimate any teams they come across.

 The Wolverines’ first games of the season will be away games on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. against Nampa Christian and Nov. 15 at Gooding at 4:30 p.m. After the Thanksgiving break they will be traveling up north to McCall on Dec. 5 for their first conference game. Their first home game will be on Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m. against Nampa Christian again.