Former Lewiston coach Mike Labonte took over the Oak Hill program later in the offseason and missed the Raiders’ summer ball, but he already has an idea of what type of team the Raiders will be in 2016-17.
“For lack of a better term, we’re going to be a workman-type club,” Labonte said.
The Raiders will have to embrace the grind on both ends of the court. They’ll have to slow teams down on defense and take what they can get on offense.
Labonte looked at least season’s stats and said that Oak Hill scored more than 40 points only seven times. Junior Kelsea Mulherin was the team’s second-leading scorer as a sophomore and will probably be an ever bigger part of the Raiders offense this season.
“She’ll probably have to touch the ball every time,” Labonte said. “I think the strength is going to be more that we’re balanced. She’s not the type of person that is going to score 18-20 points every night. We’re going to have to trust each other — that’s going to be a big word for us this season: trust.”
Several players with varsity experience return to the team that went 8-10 last season and lost in the Class B South preliminaries. The Raiders’ goal is to continuously work to improve over the course of the season.
“I think we’re just going to be one of those blue-collar, working teams,” Labonte said. “We’re going to have to grind out everything. They’re working hard, and that’s all a coach can ask for.”
Coach: Mike Labonte (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: B South
Last year’s results: 8-10 (lost in B South preliminaries)
Returning athletes: Seniors — Maddie Bennett, Emma Hlister, Bri Mulherin, Cassidy Tibbetts, Charlotte Waterman; Sophomores — Kelsea Mulherin, Abby Nadeau, Sadi Waterman.
Key losses: Sara Noel, Jamie Prue, Grace Sabine.
Promising newcomers: Sophomore — Sara Moring; Freshman — Desirae Dumais.
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