BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
LARNED — Larned basketball coach Ashley Crosby was named KBCA Middle School girls basketball coach of the Year.
The Larned Middle School girls (16-0) won the Central Kansas League championship.
"Their unselfishness and willingness to accept their roles were major reasons for our success," she said. "They are an amazing group of girls who believe in helping each other get better every day."
Crosby enjoyed seeing the Larned girls achieve their potential.
"They were a coachable, hard-working group that consistently put the team first," she said. "Going undefeated is difficult at any level. It took commitment, discipline, and a willingness to improve every day. I was proud of the way they represented our school and community."
Crosby previously coached Larned's varsity girls, but enjoys the emphasis on player development at the middle school level.
"Middle school is an important stage in a young athlete’s development," she said. "I enjoy helping them learn life lessons through sports — teamwork, accountability, perseverance, and leadership. I saw tremendous growth from the beginning of the season to the end.
The Larned girls embraced Crosby's emphasis on teaching fundamentals, defense, and helping players understand the game.
Crosby said high school players generally have a stronger understanding of the game, so coaches focus on advanced strategies and game planning.
"You’re building habits that will benefit the girls throughout their basketball careers," she said. "Both levels are rewarding, but middle school is where many of those foundational pieces are established."
Larned's girls created defensive chaos with full-court and half-court pressure.
"Our full-court pressure and man-to-man defense created turnovers and scoring opportunities," Crosby said. "Offensively, we focused on pushing the ball in transition, attacked the rim, and made the extra pass."
Crosby enjoyed coaching a well-rounded team.
"We had players who could score, rebound, defend, and create opportunities for others," she said. "Our strength was opponents couldn’t focus on stopping just one player because we had multiple girls impacting the game in different ways. Our leadership was outstanding."
Hoisington and Reno Valley pushed Larned in head-to-head games. Larned's closest game was a 3-point victory over Halstead.
"When we met Halstead in the league tournament, our girls responded with one of their strongest performances of the season and we won by a much larger margin," she said.
Larned's first-ever back-to-back unbeaten girls basketball team achieved school history.
"That accomplishment speaks to the dedication and commitment of this group," she said. "They trusted one another when the pressure was at its highest. They consistently found ways to make the plays needed to win."
LARNED EIGHTH GRADERS—0—Darby Sundahl; 1—Addison Maxwell; 2—Shayla Ploutz; 4—Ava Fleske; 5—Kynsley Nicholson; 10—Kenzi Holopirek; 11—Finley Froetschner; 21—Layla Parr; 23—Lylee Brown; 24—Jordyn Cook
