The Fayette High School girls basketball team entered the season with a new head coach and the hopes of posting a winning record for the first time since 2006. The Lady Falcons finished 9-17 a year ago and return senior leading scorer Hannah Quint from last year’s starting five with classmate Preslee Sunderland to go along with a strong, eight-player junior class.

Daryl Betts will lead the team from the sideline. He enters his first year as a head coach, but brings with him a wealth of experience from youth athletics up to the NAIA collegiate level.

For two years Betts was the assistant men’s coach at Graceland University, before becoming the women’s assistant coach there for two years. Last year, he served as the assistant coach for the Fayette girls under then-head coach Brian Spielbauer.

“I really got to do a lot of coaching on the floor. I’ve had a lot of experience at high levels,” Betts said. “We’re set up for success. I think Brian [Spielbauer] did a good job last year. I was there already, so that helped out with the transition of things. We were set up last year to be good this year. It was just going to take time.”

Fayette boasts a pair of six-foot forwards in this year’s lineup. Junior Kay Sullivan and sophomore Allie Spielbauer will anchor the inside of the offense while also forming the back of Fayette’s full-court press.

Both are expected to start in what is an as-of-yet undetermined starting five.

“It is very subjective right now. I have 13 kids who are going to see minutes,” said Betts ahead of his team’s scrimmage on November 11.

Fayette has three players battling it out for the starting point-guard position: senior Preslee Sunderland, junior Addison Powell, and sophomore Skylar Sunderland.

“For our guards, we have relentless athletes,” Betts explained. “We have [sophomore] Melissa Innes. [Sophomore] Lasaydra Jackman is a great scorer with great athleticism. [Junior] Maddox Wells is a very tough, strong, athletic girl who is going to get minutes. As a freshman Browyn Eubanks might play the best non-stop relentless defense on the opposing team’s best player. And she’s figuring it out.”

Junior Addie Huster and freshman Leah Thies are expected to play significant minutes off the bench.

“Leah can really shoot the ball,” Betts said of his 5’9 freshman. “She’s got a lot of offensive ability. It’s just about getting her into a new program, and being aggressive.” 

For Fayette, the team’s depth will be key to winning games with a high-pressure defense. 

“We’ll probably play nine kids in the game, maybe more. It may not be the same nine every night,” Betts said.

“Our goal is to be a very in-your-face, full-court team. Our idea of playing is to pressure the game and make the game ugly for the opposing team; overplaying wings so they can’t run their plays. We’re going to trap a lot. That’s how having this many kids is going to be fundamentally amazing for us. I won’t have to worry about us being tired.”

Offensively, Betts said Fayette will run a Princeton-style strategy which emphasizes continuous ball movement. With their height, the Lady Falcons should score plenty of points from the paint. However, Betts said he has plenty of shooters on the team who can score from behind the 3-point arc.

“Hannah Quint has really come along as a shooter,” he said. “Melissa Innes, Lasaydra Jackman have starting shooting the ball well. Addison Powell is really getting there with it. Our posts are hitting them now.”

Fayette took the court for a black-and-gold scrimmage on November 11 before a home crowd. The next Wednesday, the team headed to play in a jamboree hosted by Meadville, where the Falcons took on Baymer and Meadville.

“The effort is going to be there this season. We’re going to be successful. The record, hopefully, shows it,” Betts said. “Our signature win would be to knock off Schuyler County. 

Schuyler County won the conference a year ago and returns most of its starters. Fayette will host the Lady Rams on January 9.

The Falcons will open the season at the historic Glasgow Tournament, which begins on November 28. Fayette was seeded fourth and will play fifth-seeded La Plated, which lost by five to New Franklin in its season opener Saturday. A year ago, Fayette finished the tournament 1-2, losing to Glasgow in the opening round before defeating Slater and Westran for back-to-back wins.

Fayette will play its first Lewis & Clark Conference game on December 13 at home against Harrisburg.