When Republic’s freshman girls opened the basketball season with six players, coach Amanda Plotner knew they’d have a difficult road. Then Madison Pullen went down with an injury, and the road got rougher.
“My first thought was, I hope Madison’s okay,” says Plotner. “Then my next thought was, ‘Great, I’m going to have five players.'”
Those five–Asia Adair, Keana Adair, Michaela Moore, Bailey Pamperien, and Michayla Shanks–have thrived. The Freshman Five have won all five games since Pullen’s injury, and are 6-1 overall.
“This is a new concept for a lot of them. It’s different than what they did at the junior high level, because they beat people by 50 points,” Plotner says. “But they’re really trying to pay attention to what I’m saying, and listen to the details.”
It’s a new concept for Plotner, too. She prefers her teams to run the floor, fueled by turnovers caused by defensive pressure. That’s not possible with only five players.
“To me, basketball is not zone defense and slowing the game down. I’m all about getting up and down the floor, and man-to-man. But we can’t do it,” she says. “So it’s a different kind of game for me. I’m happy to end the game with five players. If I end the game with five, that’s a victory for us.”
Moral victories haven’t been enough for a team that has picked up big road wins at Nixa and Ozark. The freshman girls were the lone bright spot Tuesday, when Ozark handed Republic’s basketball program five losses in six games.
“I am pleasantly shocked,” Plotner says. “I bragged on them the other night. All of them have improved. They’ve listened to what we’ve actually gotten them to buy into.
“I’ve seen all of them grow, obviously physically as far as basketball. But I’ve also seen them mature, as in, ‘Okay, I’ve got to step up, my team really needs me now, I’m not just a bench player. I’ve gotta do my part.'”
Plotner says the girls are achieving the number-one goal for a freshman team–improving and getting ready for the next level. And they’re also having fun.
Is Plotner having fun, too?
“I am. They’re a great group of girls.”
