County Seat Newspaper
of Clare County

Harrison Girls Set for 2nd Season with Ryan Carlstrom

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By BEN MURPHY

Cleaver Sportswriter

Now in his second season as head coach of the Harrison girls basketball team, Ryan Carlstrom is ready to see what the Lady Hornets bring on the court this winter. While they’ve only been practicing for a couple weeks, he’s already banking on his team to play a certain way when they hit the court this year.

“I expect us to play fast and bring a lot of energy to each game,” he said. “I expect these girls to come prepared and ready to compete their best each night.”

The Hornets went 4-18 a year ago, but did not have any seniors and had just one junior on the roster. That means they should have a wealth of experience to draw upon this winter.

“One of my favorite things to see some from last season was the growth we made over the course of the season,” Carlstrom said. “We were a very young team.”

Back from last year well be senior Marionna Buff (forward), juniors Janessa O’Day (guard, all-conference honorable mention), Lydia Kendall (guard, forward, second team all-conference), Ashlyn Winters (guard), Mya Gardner (guard), Hayley Neff (forward), Gracie Burkhard (forward), Cadence Hardy (guard, forward) and Sam Hopkins (guard).

“It is hard for me to single out just a couple of leaders,” Carlstrom said. “All of these girls are capable of leading and some of them do it in different ways. We are really focused on being good teammates and holding each other accountable, including myself. So, from that viewpoint, I expect all the girls to lead each other.”

New to the team will be junior forward Brianna Graves-Smith and freshman guard Dakota O’Day.

“We've been focused on our defense early this year,” Carlstrom said. “We have made it a point to prioritize defense and then getting out early in transition. Our main goal this year is to just keep getting better every day and compete. I know that is very broad, but if we can just continue to get better and not get comfortable with anything. It will help us out in the long run.

“We need to want it,” he added. “The girls just have to go out there and want it every day and don't settle for anything. Secondly, we have to be ourselves. We can't try to play like somebody else or try to beat them at their own game. We have to make sure we're playing Harrison brand of basketball and the wins will follow us.”

Harrison had its season opener on Tuesday at home against Coleman and they open Jack Pine Conference today (Thursday) at Beaverton. The Lady Hornets will play in the Jack Pine Conference Division 2, where Carlstrom tabbed Meridian; last years JPC champions as the team to beat.

“They have been dominant the past few years, so until proven otherwise, they are the team to beat,” he said. “As for us, I think we're going to shock some teams this year and I hope they overlook us. To give an exact spot in conference is a little premature cause nobody has seen anyone play yet. But we will be up.”

They’ll also play at Pinconning on Tuesday and head to Gladwin on Dec. 12.

“(We want) to win, out of the first five teams we play, we only beat one of them a season ago,” Carlstrom said. “So, we are going to challenged early this year, so there is no time to blink. I am ready for it, and I know the girls are too.”

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