ADDISON, Ala. — The youthful 2020-2021 Addison Lady Bulldogs put together a pretty solid season, just missing out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins. The 2021-2022 version of the Lady Dawgs promise to be an exciting, fast-paced team with large expectations. Second year Head Coach Bailey Boland believes that with her returning players and a newcomer sprinkled in here and there, the sky is the limit for this young team. Coach Boland brings back about 98% percent of the teams scoring and about 95% of the rebounding from last year. The Lady Dawgs return all five starters from last year. As of now, the starting lineup will consist of two seniors and three juniors. Coach Boland welcomes the high expectations for the team and seems to think that the girls will thrive.
“I believe that we have improved a lot since the end of last year,” Boland said. “We have only had a few practices and are behind most of the other teams due to the majority of our players playing volleyball. But since the girls have arrived, after winning the state title (volleyball), they have been super focused and intense.”
“Our players and my basketball philosophy really match up well. I like to run, press and shoot. We don’t have a lot of size, height wise, but we have a several good outside shooters and we will have better depth than we had last year,” Boland said. “I know that Bracey (Rodgers), Hadley (Butler) and Molly (Gilbreath) are excellent perimeter shooters, and several other girls can hit the three as well.”
Coach Boland believes that even though the Lady Dawgs don’t have a ton of length, they are more than capable of holding their own in the paint.
“We have Gracie (Manley), A.G. (Anna Grace Luker) and Lydia (Ergle) up front. They are all experienced and have played a lot of basketball,” Boland said. “Gracie is about 5’6″, A.G. and Lydia are about 5’7″ and they have improved in their positioning, and they will outwork the other players to get the ball.”
One of the things about this year’s team that Coach Boland is most excited about is the leadership returning to the floor.
“My two senior starters, Bracey and A.G. are my vocal leaders on and off the court,” Boland said. “The entire team has a positive attitude, but those two ladies are super positive and supportive and have led this team in working hard to be better players and people.”
Coach Boland really expects Gracie “Bug” Manley to take an extra step this year as well.
“Gracie just doesn’t know how good she could be,” Boland said. “She can shoot, rebound, pass and play defense. She does it all and to make it even better she is one of the hardest workers on our team.”
Coach Boland believes that the Lady Dawgs’ region is a tossup this season and knows they’ll have to show up and play well against their region foes.
“We return everyone, Cold Springs lost some good players, but they just reload. Double Springs and Falkville lost some key players as well, so the region is up for grabs,” Boland said. “I think that if we play our best and compete night in and night out, we have a good chance to accomplish our goals. Our goals are as always, County championship, region title and the playoffs. We lost three times to Falkville last year and the frustrating thing about that was that we were in every one of those games and could have won them.”
The Lady Bulldog’s tip off their 2021-2022 season on Friday, November 19 at home against the Meek Lady Tigers. Good Luck Lady Dawgs!
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