Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolverettes Ready For Season

Opponents of Prescott's Wolverettes should be afraid very, very afraid.

Last year there was some expectation the Wolverettes would be down after losing six quality players to graduation, while returning three to the squad.

Of course those three were Stacy Stockton, Traci Graham and Jessica Hendrix. Solid players with plenty of game experience under pressure. All three had shown they could play.

And, last year, the Wolverettes were headed by a new coach, Bill Cossey. He brought another unknown quantity into Wolverette country his sophomore daughter, Andrea.

Cossey said some teams in the league may have overlooked Prescott because of the lost personnel and unknown factors tossed into the equation.

All the Wolverettes did was win the conference, earn a berth in the state tournament and make it to the semifinal tilt in the big dance.

There are two seniors on the 1998-99 squad, Stockton and Hendrix. There will be 12 juniors, including Graham and Cossey, with only two sophomores on the team.

Coach Cossey has been working with the team since school started in August, getting the Wolverettes ready for the coming season. He anticipates being targeted by every team in the 7AAA every night out.

He said the team has come together much quicker this year and is picking up on the new wrinkles he's added, just to keep the opposition on its toes.

"The girls seem to know what we're trying to do and need to get done," he said.

However, Cossey said, repeating as conference champs this year will be harder as Mena is now in the league. Because of the distance, both games against the Lady Bearcats will be played on Fridays.

This year's district tournament will be played in Fouke, another tough place to play. In fact, Cossey said the Lady Panthers are one of the teams to watch this year.

De Queen's Lady Leopards will be strong once again, but did lose Julie Stern in the middle. The Lady Leopards do return Tollett, though.

Nashville will be another hard team for Prescott to tangle with in conference play as the Lady Scrappers return almost all of their starters from the 1997-98 team. Of course, when Nashville and Prescott meet in any sport it's more of a war than an athletic contest.

Fordyce lost its big girl inside, but brings up a strong junior high team from last year, making the Lady Redbugs one more difficult hurdle for the Wolverettes to climb.

Cossey said Fountain Lake won't be a pushover either, as the Lady Cobras return two good players from last year's team.

Overall, as is no surprise, the 7AAA conference will be one of the toughest in the state again this season.

Once the district tourney is completed, Cossey said, getting through the regionals won't be any easier. In fact, it will be even harder to win the regional tournament this year.

Along with teams such as Drew Central and Star City, Warren and Hamburg have been added to this year's bracket.

Still, while the teams Prescott's girls face will be gunning for them, Cossey has added a few new things they will have to watch out for.

The Wolverettes will be running more, at every opportunity, while the defense is expected to be solid as ever.

Cossey has the team in good physical condition, and has been running the practice drills the way game situations will be played.

Oh, yes, the girls have been shooting lights out in practice, as if they didn't shoot well enough before.

One more thing, the Wolverettes could surprise everyone with their strength inside. This year Prescott should be even stronger in the paint at low post.

Prescott will open the season on the road Tuesday, Nov. 10, against a long-time foe the Lady Go-Devils of Gurdon. The junior boys, junior girls and senior girls will tangle on the hardwood, as Gurdon's senior boys will still be involved on the gridiron, preparing for the first round of playoffs.

Tipoff will be at 5:30 p.m.