Moorefield Girls Basketball looks to finish the season strong under the leadership of head coach Jared Wratchford with assistant coaches Quincy Combs and Andrew Kincaid.
The Yellow Jackets will be guided by seniors Veronica Carr, Cici Kump, Raleigh Kuykendall and Elizabeth Williams.
Class AA Moorefield has a plethora of talent to earn wins with the seniors supported on varsity by juniors Brenna See, Brylee Reel, Jocelyn Wagner; sophomores Kerigan Bergdall and Parvatee Snyder and freshmen Anniston Kite, Kiersten Rinker, Alilyia Eye and Natalie Rubnkonig.
The junior varsity squad includes: Snyder, Kite, Rinker, Rubnkonig, Eye, Chloe Eye, Ella Poling, Emily Parisi, Peyton Miller, Chloe Champ, Makayla Myers and Allison Jackson.
The season begins on December 8th against Class AAAA Hedgesville in the Hive and this year the opponents will all be within the Mountain State including cross county rival Class A East Hardy on December 30 (home) and January 22 (away).
The Yellow Jackets will be returning to compete in the Petersburg Tip-off Tournament on December 19th-20th.
Moorefield has tough challenges to hurdle this year including Hedgesville, St. Marys, Ravenswood, Tucker County, Pendleton County, Hampshire, Doddridge County, South Harrison, Frankfort, Philip Barbour, Petersburg, Keyser and Berkeley Springs.
Moorefield will host Berkeley Springs for the season finale on February 21st.
Coach Wratchford provided his outlook on the team and season with a Q&A session:
Goals for the team this year and how to improve: The goal is always to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year and hopefully give yourself a chance to make it to Charleston. More specifically, we need to execute better offensively. Defensively last year we held teams well below their averages in scoring, but we struggled to score ourselves. We want to be able to generate more easy baskets to hopefully keep us from the long scoring droughts that plagued us last year.
Team Chemistry and Senior Leadership: The team chemistry has been amazing. The girls have brought a lot of energy and positive attitudes to practice and they really support one another. We have four awesome seniors in Cici Kump, Raleigh Kuykendall, Veronica Carr and Elizabeth Williams who have all earned captain status. They have kept practices upbeat and have really taken the younger girls under their wing.
Varsity Roster: We return three girls that played a ton of minutes last year and we are looking from them to lead the way this season. Cici Kump is a four year starter and will be one of the team’s leading scorers. Raleigh Kuykendall was basically a 6th starter the last two years and will anchor our post. She has the potential to average 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. Kerigan Bergdall was second on the team in minutes played last season as a freshman. We’ll have the ball in her hands a lot on offense and she’s getting better and better on the defensive end.
We have a lot of other girls who are ready to make their mark on varsity and we’re excited for them. Brenna See and Jocelyn Wagner will probably round out our starting lineup. They have put a ton of work in during the offseason on the court and in the weight room and it’s showing. Veronica Carr and Elizabeth Williams will provide us a lot of minutes. They’re amazing people and amazing teammates who understand their roles and have helped mold a lot of the younger girls. Brylee Reel provides us depth at the guard and forward positions and always gives you everything she has when she’s on the floor. Parvatee Snyder is a sophomore who never played basketball until last year, but is probably the best pure athlete on the team. She’s getting more comfortable by the day and I expect her to make a big impact this year. There are multiple freshmen that could earn some varsity minutes as well as the season progresses.
Schedule/New Teams: We always play a challenging schedule and this year will be no different. Just in our first four games we open up with AAAA Hedgesville at home on December 8th. We follow that up with two neutral site games at Robert C. Byrd High School against St. Marys and Ravenswood who are perennial state tournament teams. Then we come back home to play Keyser who will be one of the favorites to win AAA this year. Additionally, we have a back to back trip in February where we will play at Doddridge County who will be a top-10 team in AA and then South Harrison who is a tough regional opponent. Those games along with our usual local teams and the Holiday tournament will provide us with plenty of challenges throughout the year and we are looking forward to it.
Coaching Philosophy: It’s very cliché, but my coaching philosophy can be summed up in two words that my girls probably get tired of hearing: Attitude and Effort. There’s a ton of different ways to be successful both offensively and defensively. I’ve seen teams win many different ways. But what those teams had in common was they played hard all the time, maintained positive attitudes and minimized mistakes. I tell the girls all the time that this is high school basketball and eyre all going to make mistakes every day in practices and in games. But you can cover up a lot of those mistakes simply by playing hard and keeping a good attitude. We always have to have a next play mentality. I’m a firm believer that the game rewards those who play the hardest.
Most rewarding part of coaching: By far the relationships. It sounds like another cliché, but we want our team to be a family. I look at these girls the same way I look at my daughter and my nieces. I want them to know that we as a coaching staff will always be there for them and we do all we can to have a positive impact on their lives and to make sure that their time with us will be something they never forget.
Full Roster Breakdown:
1 Ella Poling JV – Smart PG and can knock down shots.
2 G Brenna See V – Tough, gritty guard. Does the dirty work and shot has really improved.
3 G Kerigan Bergdall V – Floor General. One of the best players in the area.
4 G Parvatee Snyder JV/V – Pitbull on defense and emerging on offense. Will impact both teams.
5 G Cici Kump V – 4-year starter. Great shooter. Should be an all-state player this year.
10 F Veronica Carr V – Senior leader. Knows what to do and where to be at all times.
11 G Chloe Leroux JV – Combo Guard who keeps getting better each and every day.
12 G/F Anniston Kite JV/V – Long, athletic freshman who can rebound and make shots. Will play a big role on both JV and Varsity.
13 G Emily Parisi JV – Another smart and gritty freshman guard.
14 F Peyton Miller JV – PF that plays with energy. One of the hardest workers on the team.
15 G Chloe Champ JV – Another smart freshman guard. Great teammate who always has a positive attitude.
20 C Elizabeth Williams V – Senior leader who will provide a ton of minutes at the post position. Soccer has really helped her footwork and athleticism.
21 C Raleigh Kuykendall V – The anchor in everything we do. Looking for her to have a big senior year.
22 G/F Kiersten Rinker JV/V – Another long, athletic freshman that can knock down shots. Will play a big role on both JV and Varsity.
23 G Jocelyn Wagner V – Long, quick, athletic forward. She does a little bit of everything and is gaining more confidence daily.
24 F Allison Jackson JV – Smart and can do a bit of everything. She has been a big bright spot early on this year.
32 G Brylee Reel V – Tough and can play multiple guard and forward positions. Will play a key role for us.
33 F/C Makayla Myers JV – Post player who is improving her defense and making more shots.
34 C Natalie Rubnkonig JV/V – Strong post player. Rebounding machine and emerging on offense.
35 F Alilyia Eye JV/V – Long, athletic forward who can defend and run the floor. Could make an impact on both teams this year.
