Sandpoint basketball aims to reload, not rebuild, in 2018

Standing at midcourt with brow furrowed, first-year Sandpoint girls basketball coach Will Love sees something he doesn’t like.

Five days before the season opener, the Bulldogs are working on breaking the press. As the guards curl and dart around imaginary defenders, Love thinks the gym is a bit too quiet.

And he’s not talking about the Bluetooth speaker at the opposite baseline.

Love isn’t a boisterous coach — he is even-keeled, observant and chooses his words well — but his voice carries. At only a few weeks into his tenure at the helm of Sandpoint’s girls basketball program, this athletes are receptive and willing to learn from their onetime assistant coach. This instance is no exception.

“We need to communicate better,” Love said, putting practice on pause. “Because it’s not just communication out there, it’s community. We have to build community out on the court.”

Any good basketball coach would stress the importance of good communication on the court; teams that talk the most on the floor usually play the best.

But Love is trying to do something more than promote good playing habits this year. Sandpoint girls basketball hopes to build on last season’s 14-10 record with two transfers and a handful of returners with a wide range of experience under their belts.

If the Bulldogs are going to be successful, then they’ll have to start by rebuilding the community that last year’s seniors left behind.

This year, the Bulldogs are young. Although Sandpoint boasts seven returners, they also lose seven seniors — including 4A first team selection and 1,000-point scorer Grace Kirscher, who is now on scholarship at Eastern Washington.

Throw in double-digit scorers Trinity Golder (who is also playing for Eastern Washington) and Ciera Bailey, and it appears that the Bulldogs are in for a rebuilding season.

“It’s difficult because like last year we relied on Grace, Trinity and all of them a lot,” Forward Natalie Petit, one of two seniors on this year’s roster, said. “Having to get used to not playing with them is going to be difficult, but I feel like we can pull through.”

Despite the losses, Sandpoint’s cupboard wasn’t bare by any stretch of the imagination.

Junior guards Dawson Driggs and Maddie Morgan were instrumental last season. Thanks to Morgan’s accurate touch from behind the arc and Driggs’s defense, the pair solidified their roles in the rotation with huge performances in the Eagle Holiday Classic and didn’t look back.

“They have started to take on that leadership role that will be important,” Love said of Driggs and Morgan. “When we played in our summer league, they were the ones that made sure people were there. It’s been fun to watch them grow not only as basketball players, but as leaders. They’ve been working really hard to get to this position.”

However, Sandpoint will be without Driggs for the first three weeks of the season, which could provide early challenges for the Bulldogs.

Driggs fell and broke her left arm during Sandpoint’s preseason basketball jamboree earlier this month; both Driggs and Love remain optimistic in light of the injury.

“[Dawson] was telling me that as far as breaks go, [hers] is the best you can get,” Love said. “She’s got to keep it immobilized for those three weeks. There’s a good chance she’ll be back after those three weeks.”

In the interim, Love will have to find someone to fill Dawson’s starting role alongside projected starters Morgan, Petit, sophomore Hattie Larson, and junior Aly Lish.

If the last name didn’t sound familiar to Sandpoint faithful, it’s because Lish transferred in from Rockland High School this year. Although she might be unfamiliar now, Lish will have plenty of opportunities to make herself known throughout the season.

“I’m pretty scrappy on defense, quick down the floor and kind of an outside shooter,” Lish said. “My old school’s style of basketball is pretty similar to this team, so my skill set is meshing together with [my teammates’].”

Love elaborated on Lish’s self-assessment by tipping his cap to the Rockland coaching staff.

“Fundamentally, [Lish] is really strong,” Love said. “In all aspects of the game, she’s been well-coached. You can definitely see that on the court — from her defense, to her rebounding and to her shooting. We’re still kind of learning her game, but she can shoot from the outside, she’s got a good mid-range game and we’re really excited to have her part of the program and see what she brings.”

If there’s one thing in common between last year’s team and this year’s, then it’s roster depth.

Love plans on using his bench liberally: By the time all is said and done, Love expects everyone on the roster to play starter-level minutes.

Even though Sandpoint only has nine active players right now, rotating everyone in could pay dividends in the long run.

After all, the young Bulldogs will have to gain experience somehow.

“We’ll have two main challenges,” Love said of the season. “One will be our size. We have one kid who’s six feet tall. I was looking at Lake City’s roster and they start two 6’3 girls, and that’s something we’re going to contend with throughout the year. But we won’t make that an excuse: we’re still going to compete on the boards. The other thing is our youth. Although we have a few kids who have played varsity, it’s been in different roles. It’s been coming off the bench or playing three or four minutes in a half. Now they’re going to have to adjust to having the number one defender on them, whereas last year they would’ve had the fourth or fifth defender on them.”

The 2018-19 Bulldogs might have to adjust to different roles this season, but the team’s drive doesn’t waver. In a season that appears rife with change, the goal remains the same: return to the postseason.

“I know all of these kids expect to get back to state,” Love said. “They want to get back to state. It’s just that we’re going to have to work pretty hard to win that state berth.”

Sandpoint starts the 2018-19 season at home against Post Falls this Saturday. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.