With all the summer-fall sports now officially concluded in Hernando County, we move into the fall-winter season of athletics and it brings on boys and girls basketball. Along with basketball is boys and girls soccer, weightlifting and wrestling. We take a brief look at all the girls basketball teams across Hernando County and what to look forward to this upcoming 2017-2018 campaign.
Central: The Bears were one of the county’s teams that was able to finish above the .500 mark once their season concluded in 2016-2017 and Central has a chance to top that mark this winter. Central went 12-11 and return some of the key contributors from last year, including junior Mykenna Corbett and senior Maddie Lewis. Both Corbett and Lewis combined to average nearly 27 points per game, with Central averaging 43 a contest a team overall. With the duo back in the fold, Central should be in good shape.
Hernando: One point. That’s what separated the Leopards from reaching the state playoffs last season, as Hernando fell 38-37 to Weeki Wachee in the Class 6A, District 7 semifinals. Hernando was that close being in the postseason, but now the Leopards are back with many of their core players back on the roster. Coming off a 17-7 record last year, Hernando returns junior Nakayla Roberts back to the lineup as the team’s leading scorer. Roberts averaged over 10 points per game and she figures to be the focal point of Hernando’s offense.
Nature Coast Technical: Expect most of the scoring load to be placed upon the shoulders of junior forward Kayla Langley, who had a terrific sophomore campaign for Nature Coast. Langley averaged over 18 points per game and returns to the Sharks’ starting lineup this winter. Nature Coast is coming off a 9-17 season, but played a lot of underclassmen in the 2016-2017 campaign. If Langley and her teammates can pickup some early season wins, the Sharks could be looking to turn the corner this year.
Springstead: Jay McNerney’s Eagles qualified for the Class 7A postseason and reached the region semifinals, before falling 71-53 to district rival Sunlake in the playoffs. The Eagles went on the road to begin the postseason and knocked off Tampa King 51-46 in the region quarterfinals. Springstead finished the memorable season with a record of 12-10. McNerney’s group will be led once again by Reagan Huden, who averaged a team-high 19.1 points per game and 3.9 steals last season. Huden, who is just a junior, was key in Springstead making the postseason this past winter. The Eagles only lost four players from last season’s playoff team.
Weeki Wachee: The Hornets were one of two Hernando County teams to reach the playoffs last year and narrowly edged out rival Hernando in the 6A-7 district semifinals. After finishing runner-up to Crystal River last season, Weeki Wachee is looking to turn the corner and win a district title this winter. Weeki Wachee is led by the talents of Seytia Hill and Shay Vazquez, whom both are juniors and each averaged over 10 points per game in 2016-2017. The Hornets have started off the season strong with a 68-45 win over Palm Harbor University.