With only two seniors on the team and a new coach, Corvallis’ girls’ basketball team is turning in a new direction. Jay Jessop is the new coach. This is his first time as a head coach although he was the strength and conditioning coach last year for the Blue Devils. In addition, he coached the 8th grade girls last year and has had some experience coaching AAU basketball.
Jessop said the team has been working on the fundamentals of basketball and will rely on that as well as some outstanding speed to be the backbone of the Blue Devil offense.
“I have some track stars on the team,” he said. “And that’s part of the reason we run the way we do. We have to use what we have in order to make success work.”
The speedsters on the team are senior Annie Jessop, junior Lakyn Connors and sophomore Sadi Henderson. All have competed and place at numerous track meets and cross country meets and have not only the speed but the stamina to keep up the running style game Jessop is looking to develop.
Jessop, a 2002 alum of Corvallis, knows his biggest hurdle is getting the team to believe they will be successful. Building a program is based on small steps and keeping the team focused can be a challenge. He feels the team is up to the task and points to their game against Anaconda on Friday night. Although Corvallis lost, 66-43, he was very pleased with how the team played together and kept trying.
“They never gave up and if they keep doing that, they will win,” he concluded.
