Lady Coyotes Basketball 2017-18

The Dodson Lady Coyotes have retained a lot of experience from last year's team which produced three wins in Coach Deserae KillEagle's first year as the team's Head Coach.

The team has only lost one starter, Mikaeya Runs Above to graduation and one reserve player, Jordan Pewitt to transfer.

The Lady Coyotes won their first game of the season last weekend at the Glasgow Showcase as they were able to defeat Terry 45-42.

Though the team won, Coach KillEagle has not committed to one starting lineup.

"Our starters will vary depending on the team we will play but for the season opener we started our two seniors Donna Dale and Kyla Racine," Coach KillEagle said. "Then we had our junior Shontelle Talks Different, a sophomore Christina Jaynes and freshman Melony Fetter."

Coach KillEagle went on to say that freshman Tiffany Cliff will be in the running for starter in future games.

Both Dale and Racine are forwards who at times last season showed the ability to spread the floor. Dale has been playing since her eighth-grade season.

"Donna has always been one of our anchors," Coach KillEagle said. "Last year she played a huge role and her presence on our floor made our girls more confident and calm. She works her butt off in the post and does an awesome job of trying to get in position. When we ask her to do something, she is always willing to do it and she always gives 100 percent."

Dale suffered a tragic loss this summer as her grandmother passed away, but it has not slowed her down. In fact, Dale has pushed herself even more on the court.

"She is determined to give it all that she has got because that is exactly what her grandma would want from her," Coach KillEagle said. "We knew that it was going to be difficult but man the girls are sure coming together as a family and team and supporting each other."

Racine had a knee injury last season, which slowed her down last year.

"She struggled mentally and physically," Coach KillEagle said. "Mentally she struggled because physically, she couldn't do what she wanted to do."

Racine has displayed confidence this season, especially on defense. After fouling out game after game last season, Racine only posted two fouls last Saturday in Glasgow.

"Going into this season, she knew that we were going to work on her foul trouble," Coach Kill Eagle said. "She got a couple of fouls right off the bat we told her that she had to have more control and then she went in there and nailed it. It's nice to see her enjoy the game because physically she can again."

Forward Talks Different showed to be a threat both inside and outside of the perimeter last season.

"All three (Talks Different, Racine and Dale) are pretty well-rounded players that can play many positions," Coach KillEagle said. "Shontelle is very basketball savvy, so she knows how to work the floor and play her position."

Coach KillEagle hopes to build the team's confidence in playing any position at any time.

Jaynes, Fetter and Cliff are each guards that made impacts on offense and defense.

"Christina, she is one of my workhorses who really sets the bar," Coach KillEagle said.

Last season Jaynes sprained her ankle during the first week of practice and though her ankle did not fully heal, she still made an impact. This season, her ankle is healed.

"When it came to practice you would never know that she had an injury because she was one of the first ones to come in and do conditioning drills," Coach KillEagle said. "She has all of the work ethic that will help her go far in life."

Fetter was the team's scoring leader last season and she continued the trend last Saturday, knocking down four treys and scoring 20 points.

Cliff has picked up where she left off last year defensively.

"Tiffany is a hustler," Coach KillEagle said. "Defensively, she was one of our best. We are trying to run the press this year and she is one of our main components."