Dameron hopeful in third year with Rockets

By Phil Cobb | November 17, 2017 |

DUSTIN HENGGELER/DAILY FORUM
The 2017-2018 West Nodaway girls’ basketball team is first row: Maddy Walker, MacKenzie Finney, Chloe Schimming, Alissa Nelson, Brittney McIntyre, Faith Sanders, Jana Dow; second: Erin Cook, Lexi Moore, Abby Bragg, Imajen Downing, and Nikita Gammell.

It’s been a rough road for the West Nodaway Rockets girls’ basketball program over the past few years, and last year’s 3-21 finish was hard for coach Taylor Dameron to swallow in his second year.

Back for a third season, Dameron is hopeful that things have been moving in the right direction for the team as far as their mental game goes, so that when they take to the court this season it can be a year of continued progress.

“My goal is that we continue to improve,” he said. “We have improved the first two years and we need to keep this thing going in the right direction.”

The team lost two key starters, Paige Hagey and Kristine Ecker, but return plenty of talent to keep the cogs moving for the Rockets’ roster. Players like Alissa Nelson, Chloe Schimming, Brittney McIntyre and Lexi Moore will be at the forefront of what Dameron hopes to accomplish with the team.

“We are in a weird spot right now where we lost two impact players, but we return a lot as well,” Dameron said of the team’s lineup situation. “We are going to be young and seasoned. For us to be successful, we need to be scrappy. We need to get on the ground for loose balls and be overly aggressive.”

With nearly double on the roster as in seasons past, Dameron will be able to rest his players in order to keep the energy level high all four quarters. The lineup includes lone senior Nelson followed by juniors Maddy Walker, Jana Dow, MacKenzie Finney, Schimming, Faith Sanders and McIntyre. Moore is the only sophomore on the team and Nikita Gammell, Abby Bragg, Imajen Downing and Erin Cook are incoming freshmen.

Playing in her fourth-year as an impact player for the program, Nelson will be a crucial part of the upcoming season.

“We need everybody to be a leader this year, but with her being our only senior it is her team and she is going to set the tone,” Dameron said.

First year assistant coach Skyler Zimmerman will help the team from the coaching side of things.

The season for West Nodaway will begin with tournament play in the Platte Valley Invitational. There the Rockets will face many area teams fighting for a tournament trophy to get their season going. It will be an opportune time for West Nodaway to see how they stack up.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Dameron said about the upcoming season. “We had a good summer and we just seem more focused this year than in years past. If we can play hard and win the 50/50 plays, we will be successful.”