By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On the heels of yet another winning season (14-8), the Rock Creek girls basketball team will look to reload and run things back in 2023-24, with a new-look squad.
Adam Plummer returns to lead the Lady Mustangs in his ninth year as head coach in St. George.
After graduating five senior starters, Rock Creek will have some restocking to do this season, but still returns a great deal of talent with a lineup that should look like this come Friday.
G- Hadley Rempe (Jr)
G- Mayci Clark (Jr)
G/F- Acelyn Rottinghaus (Fr)
F- Payton Rottinghaus (Sr)
F- Ella Rhodes (Sr)
The Lady Mustangs will also look for big minutes off the bench out of senior Brooklyn Plummer, sophomore Ellie Prather, and a trio of freshmen reinforcements in Lucy Martinie, Kennedy Whaley, and Kylee Frazee.
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Plummer and get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: When you had a chance to look back on it, what were your overall thoughts on last season?
A: Last year was a solid season, we just didn't finish as well as we wanted. We started 13-3 and finished 14-8, losing some close games down the stretch. We graduated five dedicated seniors who led every day by example.
Q: Entering this year, what would you say are the biggest known strengths of your team?
A: Our biggest known strength will be our point guard (Hadley Rempe). I only see her having a great year. We also return three senior posts that have experience and should be able to help us be successful in the paint.
Q: What are the biggest looming questions or challenges that you’ll look to sort out in these first few weeks?
A: Our biggest questions will be in how fast some of our freshmen get acclimated to varsity-level basketball. We will likely play 2-4 freshmen on the varsity team this year.
Q: What are the biggest goals and expectations for this group heading into the new season?
A: There is no change in our expectations, even though we know there will be growing pains with a young group. We expect them to compete daily and step on the court with an expectation to perform at a high level, anything will always be unacceptable.
The Lady Mustangs open their season in St. George with a home game against Clay Center this Friday.