Lady Rangers showcase skills, rout SH

By Matt Hill
STAR STAFF

   'Topper Stoppers.
   That's the role the Unaka girls freshman team played Thursday night, as the Lady Rangers crushed Science Hill 74-26 at Snavely Gym.
   "We have a real talented group of freshmen up here," Unaka freshmen coach Mike Hardin said. "I was real pleased with their effort, and real pleased with their play."
   The Lady Rangers showed why the future looks bright for Unaka girls basketball. The team really played some defense in this contest, as Science Hill hit only one field goal between the beginning of the second quarter and the start of the fourth.
   "We had a real strong defensive effort," Hardin said. "I was more impressed with that than I was the 74 points that were put on the board. We were real aggressive on defense. We were getting in the passing lanes and getting after them. That's what we've got to do."
   Unaka also dominated on the boards in this contest. A lot of those rebounds went to Julie Roberson, who scored 24 Tuesday night.
   "She's strong for us," Hardin said. "But she got a lot of help from Danielle Ensor and Coty Townsend."
   Roberson scored 25 against Science Hill, and Hardin believes she is a special player.
   "She's helping us a lot on the varsity." Hardin said. "She's a real talented freshman,"
   Jessica Osborne and Medora Carrier also had good nights. Osborne scored 13, while Carrier tallied 10.
   Hardin believes this group of freshmen could really provide Unaka with some high-quality girls basketball in the next few seasons.
   "If we keep this freshman group together and keep them enthused, I see a lot of good things from the Unaka girls basketball program in the future," Hardin said.
   Unaka has 10 freshmen on the squad, which is a pretty big group for a Class A school.
   According to Hardin, it would be hard to find a freshman class at Unaka that has been as talented as this one.
   "I wouldn't want to compare them, but it would be hard pressed for anybody to beat this group," Hardin said.
   The Unaka coaching staff is trying to get these players as many games as possible to prepare them for some successful years of playing basketball.
   "We want to play as much as we can," Roberson said. "The more practice we get the better we will be."