LEBANON, Va. — The Lady Pioneers surprised some fans last year with a 15-10 overall record. Lebanon finished second in the Hogoheegee in the regular season and tournament, runner-up to Rural Retreat. The problem is they graduated standout Morgan Varney. The smooth Varney averaged 20 points a game and led the girls in points, rebounds, steals, free throws made, and shooting percentage.
“At one point, Varney was averaging over 20 a game,” said Lebanon coach Rex Parker, who returns for his 28th season directing the Lebanon girls. “That’s what we’re looking for, someone to step up and help with the scoring that Varney did for us.
“We have eight underclassmen of ten players. We only have four to five girls with varsity experience, it might take some time for the other girls to step up.”
Only two starters return. Chloe Couch (5-4, so.) is back to run the offense. Couch scored 8.4 points and dished out 3.5 assists per contest. Couch knows where to go with the ball and will be an asset.
“I’m excited,” Couch said. “We’re small, so we must run the ball and rebound. I think we will have a good year. All the girls have something to bring to the table.”
The other starter back is Lauren Horne (5-6, Jr.) in the small forward position. Although small in stature, Horne did an excellent job on the glass. She was Lebanon’s second-leading rebounder. Kylan Brooks (5-4, so.) is extremely quick and will be the two-guard. Brooks got some starts last season and was a factor on the defensive end with 2.7 steals per game.
A key factor could be the play of Lia Beck (5-11, so.), who only played one game because of an injury. Beck is the only person with size on the roster and will play in the post.
“Beck is coming back from an ACL injury,” Parker said. “The one game she played, she scored 11 points, we have high hopes for her. She gives us size and can score around the basket.”
There is a battle between Katie Jones (5-6), the only senior on the roster, and Jaidyn Fields (5-8 fr.) for the power forward position.
Kaitlyn Morrison (5-3, so.), Kursten Morrison (5-3, so.), and Becca Ward (5-5, so.) will work on the perimeter. Karley Rasnake (5-7, so.) will be a forward.
“Couch is back; she has a lot of experience at point guard,” commented Parker. “Horne has been with me three years. Brooks played a lot as a freshman, and Katie Jones is back. We’ll see how we come together, we have a lot of speed we just don’t have a lot of size. The biggest thing is who is going to score for us.”
You can expect the Lebanon girls to play fast. They hope to create a lot of turnovers and capitalize with some transition buckets. The Pioneers will be looking for points after scoring 47 points a game last year.
“I think we can play some good man defense and maybe press some,” Parker said. “The weakness is can we rebound. We’re small at most positions. Scoring is the part I don’t know about. Only time will tell.”
After two years, the Pioneers made the move back to the SWD. Richlands is the defending SWD champs, but star Annsley Trivette transferred to Abingdon.
“Moving up to Class 2, I really don’t know what to expect,” Parker said. “I think Marion will be the team to beat, but after that, it’s sort of wide-open for second place.
LN picks for Southwest District: (1) Marion, (2) Virginia High, (3) Lebanon, (4) Richlands, (5) Graham, (6) Tazewell.