Eagles return strong group of offensive talent in 2024

by Michael Smith
 
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In its first year without superstar forward Grace Slaughter, the Grain Valley girls basketball team didn’t miss a beat.
 
The Eagles finished 18-7 and won yet another Suburban White Conference championship a year after a generational talent in Slaughter graduated and went to the University of Missouri-Columbia to play for the women’s team.
 
Grain Valley still had plenty of offensive talent and that helped it win 18 or more games for the fourth consecutive season.
 
This season, the Eagles return five rotational players from last season’s team, including Suburban White Conference Player of the Year Addy Seyfert, who averaged 12.5 points on 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 6.3 rebounds and 1.42 assists.
 
“She can really shoot it,” Grain Valley head coach Randy Draper said of Seyfert. “She has a really quick release. She is going to draw so much attention. People can’t leave her.”
 
The junior is one of many talented offensive players returning. She is a part of a returning group featuring junior Aspen Reed, senior Camryn Kelly, senior Pyper Hartigan and sophomore Madison Rust.
 
Reed is a solid scorer inside and is a good rebounds; Camryn Kelly is a knockdown 3-point shooter who also plays solid defense; Seyfert is an all around player who is also a knockdown shooter and can also score inside; Rust has good touch around the rim and is adept at scoring inside and she can also serve as a playmaker; and Hartigan is a solid shooter, is quick of the dribble and is a capable ball handler.
 
Some newcomers who could enter the rotation including senior Nevaeh Clausen and sophomores Bella Bollinger and Melanie Marcum.
 
“We have some really good shooters on this team,” Seyfert said, “and we are pretty good at rebounding. We may not look like it because of our size but we can get rebounds.”
 
Draper said he has no doubt that he has players who can score, but the success of the offense will come down solid passing. Last season, the Eagles had Findley LaForge and Meghan Knust as players who were the team’s best passers, so the Eagles will have to fill in that void.
 
“We have some people that can put the ball in the basket,” Draper said. “We graduated some really good passers and it was really easy to play offense last year.
 
“This team will have to prove that they can do that. We have to find our identity a little bit. Once we do that, we will be pretty good. We have to prove we can take care of the ball.”
 
Hartigan and Rust are two players who could serve as the primary facilitators for the offense. Marcum also has experience handling the ball and passing as she was a guard for the junior varsity team a year ago.
 
“Some people are going to have to step up in some different roles and we have already seen that,” Seyfert said. Madison played a lot last year and will play point guard. Sophomore Melanie Marcum, who could crack the rotation, was also mentioned as a potential ball handler and play maker.
 
“Madison brings a lot of pace and patience on the court. She helps slow us down and run plays.”
 
Added Kelly: “I think some people are going to have to get uncomfortable in some situations and do what they may be uncomfortable doing and pass. A lot of us are the star players on our competitive teams over the summer.
 
“Coming into the season, it’s really a mentality shift. If we learn to work together, we will come out on top.”
 
On defense, the Eagles should still be strong as they have a lot of team speed to run Draper’s patented full-court press, something the veteran coach often has his teams use to create turnovers year after year.
 
“I think we are faster this year,” Kelly said. “Our press is really good. We have intensity on both sides of the court.”
 
With a good amount of offensive talent coming back and some returning experienced players expected to get a lot of playing time, the players are hoping to win an outright Suburban White Conference title. Last season, Grain Valley earned a share of the league title with Platte County.
 
“Platte will be our biggest competition,” Seyfert said. “They didn’t really lost any seniors from last year’s team. They are a fast paced disciplined team.
 
“We’ll put in the work. We want to win.”

Grain Valley junior Addy Seyfert prepares to go up for a layup as sophomore Bella Bollinger holds a pad during a post drill during Thursday's practice. Photo credit: Michael Smith