BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Lady Panthers were ranked No. 7 in Class A in the preseason poll last week.
In the 2021 season Coach Clyde Farley led Tug Valley to its first-ever girls state championship when they won the Class A title at the Charleston Civic Center.
So TVHS has had success and hopes to continue and build on that.
This season Farley has a young roster and only returns one starter from last season. They lost all-stater Kaylea Baisden, and 4-year starters Autumn Hall and Audrey Evans.
The Tug Valley girls will have a new look on the hardwood this season. Farley and his staff still have the same goal of making it to the state tournament for the third straight season even with a younger squad.
Sophomore guard Makenzie Browning, who started every game down the stretch last season, averaged nine points a game and will be counted on to score this year.
Seniors Kristen Fields and Haley Gillman who have played four years and Kinna Justice who came out last year will compete for starting spots and playing time, according to Farley. Gillman started a few games last year and Fields was the sixth man.
Junior Taylor Richardson came out for the team this season and is suiting up for the first time since she was in middle school at Kermit.
Taylor is back out as a junior. She hasn’t played since the eighth grade and has a lot of talent, according to Coach Farley.
The longtime head coach spoke highly of his incoming freshman class this year, particularly the Lenore duo of Haven Deskins and Bailee Hall. They played for the county middle school champion Lenore Lady Rangers last season. Hall is the younger sister of Autumn Hall, and both are also softball standouts.
A couple of freshmen that have been a nice surprise are Brook Spaulding and Aleksah Osborne. They have been a pleasant surprise and have caught on quickly, Farley says.
Farley was still working on finalizing the schedule but said the slate would be tough and should get the Lady Panthers ready for the postseason.
Tug Valley was supposed to open the season this past Friday at River View, which was a state tourney team last season. But a train derailment on the Mingo-Wyoming County line blocked US 52 for more than 36 hours so the Lady Panthers could not make the road trip.
Coach Farley is once again being assisted this season by Seth Ooten, Christa Hall and Alyssa Newsome.