Eric Mitchell has taken over the Platte County girls’ basketball program this year.
Coming off three straight seasons with single digit wins, new head coach Eric Mitchell is looking to help lead the Platte County girls’ basketball team to a more competitive season.
The Lady Pirates finished last winter with an 8-15 record with exactly nine victories in each of the prior two seasons. A 14-11 finish in 2019 was the last time Platte County finished above .500 – which was the fourth consecutive year doing so at the time – as the squad is hoping to get back to that level of play.
The Lady Pirates will bring back four experienced seniors – Joslyn Hupp, Reese Pickett, Morgan Stewart and Mackenzie Shields – as Hupp and Pickett will be starters once again. Lauren Stone, Lydia Doole and Haley Barlow will fill out the starting lineup in Mitchell’s first year as head coach after being at Platte County for 14 years.
“They’re working hard to understand some of the new concepts and ideas that our coaching staff is trying to implement,” Mitchell said. “We will have our ups and downs early, but hopefully with more practice they will continue to feel comfortable with some of those adjustments.”
Junior guard Delaney Childers will be another upperclassmen who will be seeing the floor, along with a surplus of younger classmen who will be fighting for playing time. Sophomores Addy Schlake and Haley Schank, along with freshman Addy Ayers, will look to add some depth.
“To continue to see consistent improvement throughout the season, we need to stay healthy and gain some positive minutes from our newcomers. We want to see our team play with intensity, effort, and compete on every possession,” Mitchell said.