By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

The Marion girls’ basketball team has a predicament. Coach Kelly Robson will lose five seniors at the end of the year, but only one has significant varsity experience.

That lone player, Corrina Crabb, will be integral to the Warriors’ growth, Robson said.

“She’s a quality player and a good ball-handler,” he said. “She can shoot the ball, and she’ll definitely have to be our team leader.”

In terms of recent history, the Warriors have had three successful seasons in a row, Robson said. The team lost to Inman in the substate semifinals last year, and ended with a 17-5 record.

“The last three seasons have been nice for us,” he said. “We had double-digit wins each year, but I try not to base my feelings on any seasons about the wins and the losses.”

In terms of results, the seniors’ goal is a winning record, Maria Stuchlik said. With the girls scheduled to play around 20 games this year, that likely means they have to get 10 wins to hit Stuchlik’s mark.

Taking care of the ball will be a top priority for Robson, especially with a young team and not much height.

“Ball-handling is going to be the issue,” he said. “If we handle the ball well, and I think we can, we should be pretty competitive.”

Robson didn’t place specific emphasis on any one game.

“Some people consider the Hillsboro-Marion rivalry a big thing,” he said. “I try not to make a big deal out of that.”

His seniors, on the other hand, didn’t try to downplay the game.

“It’s always been a rivalry, especially in football,” Corrina said. “It just carries over into every sport. Last year it was a close game.”

One of Corrina’s goals for the season is successful bench play.

“You can’t really have just five seniors,” she said. “We’re going to have to have our juniors and younger players step up.”

With the Marion Classic starting Dec. 3, the team will test their mettle in front of the home crowd from the beginning of the season. The Warriors play their first game at Southeast of Saline Friday, but the next away game isn’t until Jan. 8 against Berean Academy.

Continuous shooting is a particularly difficult drill because of their low team numbers, senior Destiny Boudreaux said.

“It’s a lot of running,” she said. “At the varsity end we only have nine players, so none of us get a break.”

One of the seniors’ favorite drills is a 3-on-2 drill where players are chosen at random.

“It’s competitive and it’s more of a scrimmage,” Corrina said. “We don’t get to scrimmage very often.”

Robson didn’t favor any particular drills, but capturing the intensity of a game was a concept he reaffirmed.

“We try do drills that will create game-like situations when we can, specifically defense and ball-handling,” he said. “Right now with the younger kids, we’re trying to teach them the offenses we will run.”