The White County Warriorettes are preparing to start the 2021-2022 season with a mix of experience and youth.
The Warriorettes are replacing a superstar in Gracie Dodgen and several key role players, but return emerging stars as they prepare to face a new district.
“I like where we’re at right now,” said WCHS head coach Michael Dodgen. “Obviously there’s some things we need to work on and get better at. We’ve had some kids step up, and we’ve had some of our mainstays that have gotten better. We’ve got to continue to work every day.”
In the 2020-2021 season the WCHS offense was largely based on shooting threes. Dodgen said his team this year will be more balanced.
“Last year we averaged anywhere from 25-30 threes shot per game. We may shoot five (per game) this year,” said Dodgen. “We have a different presence we can go to. Our experienced players are post players. We lost over 3900 points from last year, so we’ve got to find ways to be productive and score.”
Dodgen also said he thinks having multiple players capable of stepping up will be a good thing.
“It may not be the same person every night,” said Dodgen. “That’s the good thing about this group. There’s four or five who are capable of leading us every night.”
Some players to watch for the Warriorettes this season include Nia Powers, Celeste Reed and Alaina Stiles, among others.
With seven players 5’10” or taller, the Warriorettes feature one of the biggest lineups in the state.
“It’s the biggest team I’ve ever coached,” said Dodgen. “I’ve never had a team that has this many kids with this much size. It’s a different dynamic defensively for us because we’re longer than we’ve ever been.”
The Warriorettes are joining the 3A classification as part of District 7/3A featuring Upperman, Livingston, Cumberland County, Stone Memorial, Macon County and Dekalb County.
“Our district is as good as any in the state,” said Dodgen. “It’s got some of the best players in the state. Night in and night out in this district is like playing in the state tournament. We’re excited about it.”
The Warriorettes will open the season Tuesday when they travel to take on Meigs County.