S P O RT S
Optimism Abounds
BY: STEVE MARSHALL
Moore’s Three High Schools Gear Up for Promising Basketball Seasons
T
he Moore area high school basketball season is already underway, and there are a lot of reasons for excitement about Southmoore, Westmoore and Moore. New coaches on board and a Sabercat boys’ team that reached the semifinals leave plenty of reason for optimism. The following is a summary of each team as they start the 2019-20 season.
WESTMOORE GIRLS
Despite losing three of their guards and two of their leading scorers, the Westmoore Lady Jaguars are looking at last season’s 12-11 finish and are excited as this season gets underway. “We really like what we have back,” says second-year head coach Matt Thornton. “We’re going to move 5’11 senior Madison Hays to the point guard position where I feel like she has a chance to be one of the best point guards I’ve had in my 21 years of coaching.”
The Lady Jags have some good size upfront, and they should cause match-up problems for a lot of their opponents. In the middle are seniors Shelby Kraus, 6’2, who Thornton feels has next level talent, and Torie Simon, a 5’11 forward, who is a move-in from Southmoore and averaged more than 7 points per game. “Size, rebounding and our length should be the strength of our team this year,” Thornton said. We feel like we will surprise some people this year.” Other contributors will be senior Tahtyana Jackson, juniors Brittany Romines and Shelby Tate, along with sophomores Jaiden Smith and Ryan Franklin.
WESTMOORE BOYS
Todd Millwee takes over as Westmoore’s head basketball coach.
A native of Lawton, Millwee played and coached at Lawton Eisnehower and was an assistant for seven years before becoming the head coach for the Eagles from 2015-2019, taking the Eagles to the state tournament each year. Millwee feels they have a good mix of experi26 | December 2019
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ence and youth. Seniors Reece Fuller, 6’2, and Quinten Harrison, 6’1, return as some of the leaders for the Jags, while Millwee expects juniors David Owusu, 6’2, Zane Miller, 6’0, and Tyshon Covington, 6’2, to also be contributors. Owusu really improved his game this past summer, Millwee said. He’s a very explosive player, he can get to the rim and finish and shoot the three. The team will have three freshmen, Evan Barber, 5’11, Conner Boydstun, 5’9, and Zach Hays, 6’3, playing varsity minutes, so most everybody other than Fuller and Harrison will be new. They’re also counting on sophomore Zion Ajibola, 6’5, who has shown significant improvement and should be strong on the boards. “I think we have a good young team with a good chemistry and a high basketball IQ,” said Millwee.
SOUTHMOORE GIRLS
The Southmoore Sabercat girls finished 8-15 last year, lost three of their starters, 75 percent of their offense and some size, but head coach Shawn Clark is optimistic.
Clark begins his third season as the head coach for the Southmoore girls and will build around two returning starters, sophomores Madison Crandall, 5’10, who averaged 10 points per game and Brooklyn Haywood, 5’8, who averaged 7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Seniors Morgan Ashton 6’1, and Jordan Pennon 5’8 should also be in the starting lineup along with top defender, 5’10 sophomore Kayla Neely.
Clark says the team’s strength is their ability to defend, and if the team’s chemistry can come together, they could surprise some teams this year.
