Scott assembles sound Sallisaw squad

The Sallisaw Lady Diamonds are looking to second-year head coach Greg Scott’s leadership to help guide the girls basketball team to a winning season this year.

The Sallisaw girls ended the 2020-21 season with a 9-12 record and the 2021-22 season at 11-13, so the Lady Diamonds have two losing seasons in a row and everyone is asking if Scott will turn things around during his second season at the helm.

Last season, the Lady Diamonds traveled to Fort Gibson for the first round of Class 4A district playoffs, losing 59-45 to the eighth-ranked Tigers in the double-elimination tournament.

The girls traveled to Perkins-Tryon for a 36-29 win, and two days later, the Lady Diamonds edged Crossings Christian, 4745.

Sallisaw brought its 2021-22 season to an end with a 62-58 loss against Seminole in the fourth round of the playoffs on March 1.

Offense

For the Lady Diamonds to be successful offensively, Scott’s main goal each game is to establish an inside presence by attacking the basket and being aggressive on the offensive end.

“We have four seniors returning, and we are going to have to rely on them in order to be successful,” Scott says. “We also have some underclassmen we are going to have to throw in the fire. I think the difference from last year is that we are going to have to look deeper.

“The girls have a year under their belt in my system, so as of right now, just with our scrimmages and practices, we are ahead of schedule from where we were last year. That is always a good sign,” Scott says.

Scott wants his squad to have enough gas in the tank to run all four quarters and outpace the opposing offense by tying conditioning to the fundamentals the team works on daily. If it’s just part of the daily process, then it gets done and they can’t skip it, because without it, they can’t win against ranked opponents.

“The thing about these girls is that everybody has bonded,” Scott says. “They want to learn. They are coming to practice every single day and giving it 110%. That’s going to carry over to their ballgames. Like I said, we are doing a lot of different things offensively and defensively since I got here, so everything is sort of sinking in, slowly but surely. We still have a lot of work to do. We play several different defenses, therefore, we are able to match up different defenses with opponents, we are able to switch up several defenses. Our bread and butter is running and jumping, creating turnovers, so it kind of depends on the timing. If we need to slow it down to slow them down, we are able to go 2-3 zone. We have some options,” Scott says.

“My focus this year is to get better at rebounding and just taking care of the basketball. Last year there were maybe three or four one- or two-point ballgames where if we were getting a defensive rebound, we win the ballgame. So that is our focus this year, just rebounding and taking care of the basketball.”

Starters

Scott has two starters returning, with Ellie Martin, who averaged 14 points per game last year, and Madison Bolin, who averaged six points per game, coming back and bringing their experience with them.

The Lady Diamonds who are expected to join Martin and Bolin in the starting lineup this season are Kayli Macon, Hannah Palmer and Addyson Gream.

Freshmen

There are six freshmen joining the high school team, with Palmer and Molly Carver expected to make major contributions on the varsity level. Palmer is going to be tapped as a starting guard, and will help with ball handling and shooting. Carver’s reach will be an immediate advantage on defense, and her shooting ability will be an asset on the offensive end.

Sophomores

As a guard, Macon is expected to do great things, as she’s one of Sallisaw’s better defenders after suffering a season-ending injury last year. Her presence will make an immediate impact on both ends of the court.

Juniors

Abby Kate Qualls is a versatile forward and great all-around athlete who can guard multiple positions. She is expected to log a lot of minutes on the varsity level this year. Paige Diffee is a guard that the Lady Diamonds will look to for her shooting skills, which help open up the floor. Gream is another guard who will be proving herself and vying for playing time to make an impact.

Seniors

There are four seniors this season. Three-year starting point guard Martin had a breakout season last year when she registered four triple-doubles, and is the team leader on and off the court. Martin’s athletic ability, competitiveness and toughness allows her to make a tremendous impact each game. Forward Bolin is expected to increase this year on the offensive end, where she can score inside or outside. Gream, a power forward, is an Oklahoma Wesleyan University signee who demands an inside presence and helps with rebounding. Guard Emily Gregory is a role player who does all the little things to help the Lady Diamonds compete.