Clean bill of health brightens outlook for Oly girls’ basketball
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Olympus senior guard Janie Egan drives around an opponent in the Jan. 20 Westlake game. The Titans won 47-40.
With its 47-40 win over Westlake on Jan. 20, the Olympus girls basketball team inched its 7-6 win/loss record over into the winning column, and has high hopes that things would continue to look up for them. The Titans then defeated Herriman but lost to Skyline Jan. 27 44-32; sophomore Rachel Vandertoolen was the Titan high scorer with 17 points with two three-pointers. The Titans are now 3-2 in regular season play.
“We’re doing better,” coach Kael Ashton said. “That was the best game we’ve played so far. Hopefully we can get some momentum now that we’ve finally gotten healthy.”
The Titans have been hit hard with injuries this season, with seniors Morgan Oliphant and Lilly Besler and junior Jessie Mahas finally rejoining the team after being out with injuries for a good part of the season.
Things have already looked up for the Titans as far as the games played after the winter break go; Olympus won four out of the five games, compared with only three of eight wins in the preseason before the break. The Titans beat Cottonwood 48-35 on Jan. 3, Hunter 59-55 Jan. 6 and Murray 46-20 Jan. 10 before losing in a close 43-40 match up to Hillcrest Jan. 13.
“Senior Kenzie Droubay has really picked up her game,” Ashton said. “She is leading in rebounds and is averaging around eight points per game. She plays hard and works hard. I like her energy and hustle.”
“Jen Nichols [senior] has also picked up her game,” he said. “She started off slow but is really starting to play better. We need to get her the ball because she is taking some good shots.”
Sophomore Rachel Vandertoolen led the team in scoring after 13 games, with 150 points and 13 three- pointers, and with Nichols racking up 127 points and Droubay 113.
The Titans faced Murray Jan. 31. The season wraps up for them with games against Hillcrest Feb. 3, at Westlake Feb. 7, at Herriman Feb. 10 and at home against Skyline Feb. 14.
“If we can stay healthy, I think we’ve got a chance to compete against anybody,” Ashton said.
