THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

The goal for the Central girls basketball team is not just to have success over a single season. Coach Mary Doane, who took over the Warriors in 2012, has been building a community around the program to bring up players who are ready to win. "There is a process of becoming competitive," Doane said. "There needs to be consistency with coaching, system, youth camps. We've been embracing that process and have gotten more competitive each year." This season, the Warriors will be looking for a third straight trip to the Class 5A playoffs. Doane pointed to Central's younger players as evidence the system is working. Several freshmen attended youth camps and have worked their way up through the system. "The cool thing is you don't have to fix their shots," Doane said. "They've already been taught the right way." Last season, two freshmen and one sophomore played key roles in getting the Warriors back to the playoffs. Doane said she has plenty of confidence in that crop of younger returning players. Mya Murdoch and Leah Redding were those key freshmen, and now, as sophomores, they bring experience and athleticism to the Warriors. Murdoch was the second-leading scorer last season at 7.1 points per game, and she also averaged 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Redding averaged 6.4 points per game, the third-highest scorer last season, 2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Junior Nikki Madaris saw significant playing time last season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Senior Delany Brown has been in the Warriors' program all four years and will play a key role inside this season. Last season, she led the team in rebounding at 6.2 per game. She also averaged 3 points a game. "We have had seniors leave but we've got a core group who played pivotal positions last year coming back," Doane said. "I think we're going to keep getting better each year." Last season, Central saw mixed success, finishing 10-1, 2-5 in the Southwestern League. The Warriors played their best basketball late in the season in league wins over Montrose and Grand Junction in February. Doane said Central is emphasizing team play this season. "We played great team ball last year," Doane said. "We want to be team-oriented and for everyone to play hard for each other." Doane said the Warriors are focusing on keeping things simple, which will allow everyone to get up to speed. For the players coming in this season, Doane said, they are putting in the effort and looking forward to getting to competitive play. "The girls are excited and just want to get going," Doane said. "They are a great group of girls — neat individuals. They work super hard and do what they are asked to do."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

CENTRAL FOUNDATION 2018-19 WARRIORS FOLLOWING SOLID SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINED SUCCESS

DAN WEST

The Daily Sentinel | 11/28/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Tomlinson