Resilient Raiders return, Reeves overcomes obstacles for 10-2 start
Published 6:15 pm Friday, January 8, 2021
- Photo Credit
Rodrick Anderson
Coronavirus, hurricanes, no gym, injuries.
The Reeves Raiders have been dealt a tough hand this season, but it hasn’t slowed them down. The Raiders are 10-2 and ranked No. 5 in the Class C power ratings.
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“It has easily been the strangest year of my coaching career,” Reeves head coach Mark Dronet said.
The Raiders have been nomads this season since Hurricane Laura damaged their gym in August. They have practiced at East Beauregard and Kinder high schools and even outdoors.
“If anyone asks you what it is like to be a basketball coach and not have a gym, it is not a whole lot of fun,” Dronet said. “Our gym pretty much got destroyed in the first hurricane.”
Hurricane Delta struck Southwest Louisiana six weeks later.
“It is still not back up and running,” Dronet said. “They are doing it right. They are going to replace the floor. We are going to have brand-new bleachers that actually push in and out. I feel like we have lost an entire year, but we are 10-2 despite that.”
Reeves is coming off a two-week coronavirus quarantine and has had to shift its offensive strategy from a fast-paced, guard-oriented lineup to an inside game since guard Maddie Ford tore a posterior cruciate ligament early in the season.
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“We were shooting a lot more threes and playing as fast as we could possibly play,” Dronet said. “We have switched it up to throwing the ball inside. It is almost a rule that we can’t take a shot until one of those kids touches it.”
Senior Claire Dunnehoo has moved from guard to forward to give the Raiders a high-scoring combination inside along with sophomore Faith Cauthron.
“I figured it was best for the team that we moved (Dunnehoo) inside,” Dronet said. “We throw the ball to her and Faith pretty much every trip. It has worked out well for us. Those girls have had 50 points between them. Any time you have a player as good as Claire and does as many things well as she does, you have a chance to win a game. Faith is a real good player with returning experience. They have been able to carry the team.”
The Raiders will travel to Class B No. 8 Lacassine (12-7). Game time is set for 6 p.m. today.
“It should be a really good game,” Dronet said. “We started knocking the rust Monday. If we can keep getting the ball inside, I think Lacassine is going to have a tough time guarding two girls inside that can score. We scrimmaged them earlier in the year. It was a really close game. They have a big girl (Vanessa Duhe) inside who is a really good player.”
Rodrick Anderson/American Press
