Christian Fellowship enters the 2022-2023 basketball season with high expectations. Last season, CFS re-entered the 4th District after a 17-year hiatus dating back to the 2004-2005 season after their strength of schedule and successes proved the Lady Eagles were up to the challenge.
A team that was so young for so long, matured into a strong group of juniors and sophomores last season and they finished with a 17-10 record, fifth best in the First Region with two district wins over Mayfield and Calloway County. They finished runner-up in the First Region All “A” Classic, won the CCA Christmas Tournament and KCAC Tournament and fell five points shy of an automatic berth in the First Region Tournament after falling in the semi-finals to Calloway County.
With five seniors and their top six scorers back from last season, Head Coach Trevor Jackson said the expectations are the highest they’ve ever been for the team.
“Our goals are simple”, said Jackson. “Win 20 plus games, win the All “A” Regional title and make the Regional Tournament.”
Jackson said winning the All “A” is the goal but knows there are several teams who can win it with that same goal in mind.
“Carlisle and Mayfield are both very good teams with multiple players returning from last year as well”, said Jackson whose Lady Eagles fell in the championship game last season to Carlisle County.
As for the 4th district, the Lady Eagles lost 51-46 to Calloway County in their tournament semi-final and went 2-4 in regular season district games. Along the way, Jackson said they all learned lessons about playing in the 4th District.
“Marshall and Calloway would have to be considered the favorites”, said Jackson. “We look forward to competing with those teams along with a much-improved Murray team. In my opinion, the 4th District is as balanced as it has been for quite some time. Any of the four teams could win the district, it will depend on how everyone gels during the season.”
One area Jackson hopes to see improvement in over last season is the depth of his bench.
“We will be better off the bench this year but not where I would like to be”, said Jackson. “We want to play an up-tempo style, which usually is best served if you can go seven or eight deep. Right now, I have six that are fully ready for varsity play. I’m grooming three others to try and build some depth. Even if these other three can only provide a few minutes each night, it will prove beneficial down the stretch.”
Jackson said he has been on an incredible journey with his five seniors – Lillian Burnett, Rhema Howard, Jayden Jackson, Renee Shields and Alyssa Warren.
“Two of them I’ve coached since they were in third grade”, said Jackson. “The others since sixth grade. They are a special group of young ladies and I hope that their best basketball is still ahead of them. A school our size doesn’t have a senior class this talented very often, if ever. We talked before our first game about where we were six years ago, seventh graders trying to simply keep up. I told them that this was their time, they were finally the oldest, most experienced team. They should enjoy and relish every opportunity to go out and compete.”
The Lady Eagles opened their season on Tuesday with a 70-30 win over Dawson Springs. Junior Gracie Howard led with 21 points and Burnett scored 20. Five others in the scoring column included: Shields 9, R. Howard 8, Jackson 6, Warren 4 and Noelle Tyson 2. They were 1-of-5 from 3-point range (G. Howard), 11-of-21 in free throws and had 50 rebounds (Burnett 16, Jackson 11).
Friday, they play their first home game against Fulton County in a doubleheader with the Eagles. Tip-off is at 6:00.