Huskies embrace underdog role

With a lot of youth and speed, the Highland girls? basketball team isn?t afraid to enter the season.

Despite losing an All-State athlete, and another pair of All-Conference selections from a season ago, the Huskies return a pair of starters, and will boast only four upper classmen in the 2015-16 season, and are feeling like there is no pressure this

year.

?A lot of people are going to see us as the underdogs,? Highland senior Briana Davis said. ?With this team, we are going to do a lot better than what people are expecting.?

With returning starters Cheyann Adamson (10.2 points, 2 assists per game) and Kelsey Hora (9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists per game), in addition to Davis, the Huskies are planning on having a strong guard corps this season, and plan to use it to their advantage.

?We don?t really have any bigs, so we are left with our shooting,? Adamson, a Highland senior, said. ?We have a lot of speed, and we are going to use that to our advantage.?

Both Adamson and Hora were named to the Southeast Iowa Super Conference second team last season, and that recognition is something they both hope to build on in the new season.

?It motivates me a lot,? Hora, a junior, said. ?It?s going to be tougher to do some of the things I did last year, so we might have to change our game plan, but I?m still looking forward to improving this season in the conference.?

With the game plan changing, it will mean a different attitude for everyone involved, starting with head coach Jody Fink.

?One of the things we?ve been discussing is that I need to be more patient,? Fink said. ?We are learning together as a team, and I have to give them more trust, and that?s one thing we?ve been trying to stress. That will help develop more trust with all the girls, and we?ll have to be deeper this year.?

With the goal of becoming deeper this season, Highland will look to a number of underclassmen who are hoping to make strong impacts this season.

With a number of scrimmages and some play this summer, the team hopes they can get up to speed quickly.

?We had some summer games, where some freshman could get the feel of the varsity game, so that definitely helped,? Adamson said. ?Our scrimmages will help too, so I hope the first game isn?t too much of a shock, like it was for me.?

Having a large number of young contributors, the two seniors are taking it upon themselves to set a strong example.

?We have to take over as the upperclassmen, because there are only four of us,? Davis said. ?It?s a whole new team, so it?s not like we have to fill in other shoes. It?s just a whole new team, basically.?

Highland will have to battle many obstacles, but Fink is embracing the role of underdog this season, as the Huskies look to make their mark in the conference.

?I think it?s a positive,? Fink said. ?If they don?t want to respect us and think that we are young, we can step up and say we won?t miss a beat. For them to come out and prove that, I like having the underdog aspect, and it takes some of the pressure off of us. It?s fun to be in that role and do the unexpected.?

Highland will take part in the Mid-Prairie Jamboree on Thursday night, facing Mid-Prairie at 7:45 p.m. The regular season will open up the season on Friday night, when they host Keota at 7:30 p.m.