Beech Tree News Network

With a new coach at the helm, the Butler County Lady Bears basketball team is set to kick-off its 2014-15 season on Monday, December 1, at Hancock County.  With an aggressive summer program and challenging preseason, the Lady Bears have been hard at work on the court since official practice began October 15.  An assistant football coach and teacher at Butler County for the last few years, Coach Bivens is hoping to improve on a 2013-14 squad that went 8-16.  However, the coach acknowleged there are big shoes to fill from that team.

"Having watched last year's team from the scorer's table, there is no doubt that losing Katie Graham, Lynsie Clark, and McKenzie Smith to graduation is huge. Those three young ladies accounted for so much of the offense and are going to be difficult to replace," said Bivens.  "Everyone is going to have to contribute their part each night to make up for the loss of those three outstanding young ladies."

Althought the Lady Bears has a relatively small roster in terms of numbers, Coach Bivens is hoping that several of those girls will be able to step up and contribute.

The lone senior on this year's team is 5'5" guard Shawna West, who brings a significant amount of varsity experience to the table.  The two juniors are veteran 5'7" forward Callie Cardwell and newcomer Harlie Deweese, a 5'4" forward.  The sophomore class is the largest with returning players Cheyenne White (5'6" guard/forward), Addison Hall (5'10" forward/center), Allie Easley (5'7" guard/forward) and Chloe Flener (5'10" center).  Flener suffered an ankle injury during practice a few weeks ago and is currently not able to play for several weeks.  Coaches are hopeful that she will return before the end of the season.  Joining the sophomore class is transfer Karson Inscoe, a 5'5" guard/forward.  The freshman class is composed of Maddy Murphy (5'10" forward) and Madison Ford (5'4" guard).   

"We have nine girls on our roster at the moment. We look for all nine to be contributors in some aspect," said Bivens.  "When the middle school season is over, we hope that those young ladies will be willing to move up and play a lot of minutes at the JV level, and possibly even earn some time in the varsity rotation. We are just looking for girls who are willing to put in the hard work that it takes to become successful."

When it comes to identifying what his team must do to be successful this season, Bivens was quick with a response: rebound, limit turnovers, good defense.  

"I keep telling our ladies that there are three things we have to do every day to give ourselves a chance to win a game," said Bivens.  "Those three things are (1.) Take care of the basketball. We can't afford a bunch of silly turnovers. (2). Rebound. We have to have as many second chance opportunities as possible and limit the our opponent's opportunities. (3.) We have to play tough defense for the entire game. Easy offensive points are created by tremendous defense. If we can do these three things successfully in each of our games, I feel as though we will at least set ourselves up for the chance to win," added Bivens.  

Butler County plays in the 12th District and Third Region - both of which features several qualitiy opponents.  Also, the Lady Bears will be playing in a tough holiday tournament at South Warren.  

 "I am really looking forward to our season. We have a schedule that has some tough games but if you want to be one of the best around you have to play the best competition," said Bivens.  

With a strong district schedule the norm, the Lady Bears will need bring their best game to the court for those contests.  

"Our district is going to be tough as usual. Grayson County, even though they went through a coaching change, will be loaded with talent and always compete well. Edmonson County will be just as tough as last year. Even though they lost their best player to graduation, they return several girls who play hard and can score from all over the floor. We hope to compete with the teams in our district and hopefully put ourselves in a position to make a run in the post-season," said Bivens.

Trinity High School (Whitesville) rounds out the four-team district and typically puts competive teams on the court/field across the board.

Joining Bivens courtside will be Lexie Smith, a former Lady Bear basketball player herself.  Smith will be the head coach for the junior varsity team.  
"Lexie is a tremendous asset to our basketball family. She has a wealth of basketball knowledge," said Bivens.  "Her ability, as a young coach, to be able to coach our girls the way she does yet have a relationship where the girls feel comfortable enough to go to her in times of need, only means that she is destined to be an amazing coach for a very long time."

The Lady Bears open the first week of the season with three games.  They are at Hancock County on Monday, December 1; host Bowling Green on Tuesday, December 2; and are at Russellville on Thursday, December 4.  Typically, the junior varsity game starts at 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.  Most games will be aired live on WLBQ 101.5 FM - The "New Q."  

Click on the links below to view the Butler County Lady Bears 2014-15 Roster and Schedule.  

Lady Bears 14-15 Roster.docx 

Lady Bears 14-15 Schedule.docx

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 - Story by John Embry and photos by Jeremy Hack, Beech Tree News.