The Springlake-Earth Lady Wolverines are looking to repeat as District Champions this season under veteran Head Coach Jeri Been Goodman.
Coach Goodman is in her fifth year back at the helm of the Lady Wolverines girls’ athletic program. Previously, she was the head coach of the Lady Wolverines for nine years, before taking six years off from coaching. She also spent a year at Hale Center and 10 years at Hale Center, seven as an assistant.
Coach Goodman is assisted by Sarah Weldon, who has been her assistant coach the last five years.
The Lady Wolverines are off to a 13-7 start this season, 4-0 in district play. They finished last season in a loss to the Valley Lady Patriots in the Area round of the play-offs.
The Lady Wolverines return four varsity players from a season ago in seniors, Sayler Beerwinkle and Mahalia Delgado; junior, Halee Toscano; and sophomores Taytum Goodman and Sydney Furr.
“Sayler is our go-to person and leading scorer the last two years, while Mahalia is a hustler and is coming off an injury,” she said. “Halee is an all around player for us and creates a lot on offense, and is our best penetrater.”
She added, “Taytum leads the team in steals and assists and just makes things happen for us, while Sydney is a solid rebounder. She plays great post defense for a small forward.
The Lady Wolverines also have three new editions this year in sophomore, Emma Samaron and freshmen, Jasmine Garcia and DD Delgado.
“Emma is the sixth woman for us,” the coach said. She comes in and creates scoring opportunities and is a great rebounder. Jasmine got moved up from JV for the first game of the season, when we had some injuries and has become a true varsity player. She has also hit some big shots for us.”
She added, “DD didn’t get released to play until the second week of December, but has gotten some solid minutes. She is getting in shape and helping us out.”
Coach Goodman talked about how this team has made strides from last year to this year, saying, “We lost two starters off of last years team. I have had girls step up and fill those spots.”
She added, “I had an official before Christmas break tell me I had the most unselfish team he has seen this year. That is what this years team is ‘a TEAM’.”
The coach talked about who her leaders are, saying, “We don’t really have a vocal leader, they are all floor leaders. Our scoring leaders or threats change from game-to-game. Sayler is the force in the paint, but Emma is becoming one too.”
She added, “Halee and Taytum are my outside threats, and defensively Halee, Taytum and Sydney have stepped up. Taytum is our assist queen she loves feeding the ball to everyone else.”
Coach Goodman said that their number one strength this year is their teamwork.
“They are a team, they get along better than any team I have had at Springlake-Earth.”
She added, “Some things we need to work on moving forward are blocking out and better defense.”
The coach talked about the season to this point, saying, “I’m super proud of what our team has accomplished so far. We won the Whiteface and Whitharral tournaments. We went 1-2 in the Littlefield Tournament where we were definitely on the tough side of the bracket.”
She added, “We were the only 1A team there. Tournament Champion, Portales, beat us by 16 points, Dumas beat us by one point and we beat Tahoka by 11points. I think the Portales and Dumas games taught us a lot.”
She gave her outlook on the district, saying, “We are 4-0 so far and I hope to be 12-0 when it is all said and done.”
The Lady Wolverines’ remaining schedule is as follows:
Friday, Jan. 21 st at Cotton Center; Tuesday, Jan. 25 th at Lazbuddie; Friday, Jan. 28 th at Hart; Tuesday, Feb. 1 st home against Anton; Friday, Feb. 4 th home against Kress and Tuesday, Feb. 8 th home against Amherst.