The Cardington-Lincoln girls’ basketball team is coming off an 11-11 season where were second in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference at 8-4, and Coach Kevin Fitzpatrick sees the team competing for the top spot in the conference this winter
“I expect us to be competing for the KMAC title,” said Fitzpatrick, who is in his second year coaching Cardington-Lincoln’s varsity squad. “We will have some early struggles and that’s to be expected because of our difficult schedule. I believe that we will be a team that gets better as the year goes on. We want to be playing our best b-ball at the end, and I believe that we will be doing just that.”
The Pirates return seven letter winners and five players who have plenty of varsity experience under their belt. Last year they were only one win away from a share of the conference title, and they only had one player with experience coming into last season.
“The biggest difference in this team from last year is the experience factor,” Fitzpatrick said. Our strength this season is our experience. We have multiple players that played a lot of varsity basketball. We have some size and athleticism that should help us compete for the KMAC. My concern is our lack of scoring. We had trouble putting up points last year and that really hurt us.”
Returning to the squad is first-team All-KMAC junior Abigail Hardwick at point guard, who last year averaged 2.4 assists per game, which was fourth in the conference. She was also outstanding on defense, in the top 10 in steals at 2.3 steals per game. Hardwick was also first team District 11.
Senior small forward Lydia Hess was second team All-KMAC and District 11, and senior Madison Caulkins was honorable mention for All-KMAC. Caulkins provides length, and was third in the KMAC in boards at 7.5 per game. Senior Genevieve Longsdorf was tied for second in the conference with 1.2 blocks per game.
“Lydia is our returning scoring leader and Madison led us in rebounds,” said Fitzpatrick. “I have another senior, Genevieve Longsdorf who had some big games for us too.”
Fitzpatrick has plenty of experience, coaching 23 years at different grade levels. He was the varsity assistant at Cardington-Lincoln before becoming head coach. He said his philosophy comes from coaches he has worked with over the years, and said his approach is to have his team play with great effort on both sides of the floor.
“If we can do that, we will be very successful,” Fitzpatrick said. “We are working teaching our kids that in practice every day.”
The Pirates started their season 0-3, and Fitzpatrick knew these games against North Union, Pleasant and Jonathan Alder would be tough. He sees the Mount Gilead game being one to watch, as they are coming off a solid season where they won the KMAC. Centerburg also looks to be a tough team this season, as they return most of their team from last year.
“We have a lot of varsity experience from last year’s team, and so do the other teams in our league and in our area. I’ve been trying to get the kids to buy into the slogan or motto or whatever you want to call it, “Team comes first.” We have many returning talented players. We have a lot of court time and experience of playing at the varsity level. We just need to put it all together and great things can happen. We can and should be competing for the KMAC title this upcoming season.
The Pirates take on Highland on Dec. 5 at 7:15 p.m.
