North Miami girls basketball preview: After winning Hoosier North, regional titles, how will Lady Warriors adapt without Musall, Sailors?

Val T.

26 minutes ago

5 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

North Miami girls basketball coach Nathan Curtis knew how good Fountain Central was going into last year’s Class 1A regional.

He knew that Fountain Central was 21-2. He knew they were well-coached. He knew they were second in the state in defensive scoring average. He knew they were ranked No. 11 and that his team had not been ranked all year.

He walked in the locker room at Frankfort’s Everett Case Arena and told his players that they were going to win anyway. They had played the tougher schedule, and they were well-seasoned. He told his players that if they scored 40 points that they would win.

He was prophetic. They won 40-36.

The season ended the following Saturday in the semistate semifinal when they lost to Elkhart Christian, and that meant saying goodbye to point guard and current Manchester University player Laney Musall and post player Grace Sailors, now playing volleyball and track at Franklin College.

But Curtis remains confident in his players that are still left. They not only won the regional, but they also had an undefeated run through the Hoosier North.

They will have a big in Kayden Donaldson with a varied skill set. They have some experienced guards and some younger guards that will be pushing for playing time.

Prior to 2022, North Miami was in a 14-year sectional drought. Since 2022, they have won four sectionals and the first two regionals in school history under Lori Working and Curtis, her successor.

“We lost Grace Sailors and Laney Musall, who is now at Manchester,” Curtis said of the team’s offseason. “It was kind of a learning curve for some of the younger kids. And I feel like this summer it was more about the younger kids. I feel like this summer it was more about the younger kids getting comfortable with the things we are doing.”

Donaldson, a 5-10 forward, comes into the season with 798 career points.

“I need her to be a leader,” Curtis said. “If she’s not scoring, rebound. Block shots and be there. She’s going to take a lot of defense away from other kids. It’s not a secret: She can play basketball. She can shoot it from deep. … She might not always be the leading scorer, but she will do things to other teams defensively where they’ve got to focus on her. Because if not, she can go for 25 every night.”

The other senior is 5-8 point guard Laina Kling.

“She’s a kid that gives you 150 percent every single time she’s on the floor,” Curtis said. “She has gotten better. She’s a better shooter now than she was. And she’s not a great shooter, and she understands that, but when she shoots it, she knows it may not go in, but she’s going after the rebound. So she’s a player that I love having. We call her the ‘Tasmanian Devil.’ She’s non-stop 100 percent of the time. The effort’s always there defensively. She’s always going to be in the play.

“Last year in the regional game, she was the difference, I felt like, against Fountain Central,” Curtis said. “She had a couple big steals and took it down and got layups. She’s a dawg on defense, and she never stops.”

Two other returning starters are juniors in wing Layla Hampton and guard Porcha Pickett. Hampton has come back with a much improved three-point shot, according to Curtis.

“She’s stronger,” Curtis said. “She’s more mature. I see her rebounding better. She’s better around the basket than she was last year, finishing through contact. But I would say the biggest improvement with her is the way she’s shooting the basketball.”

Pickett started all 27 games last year.

“She’s a good defender,” Curtis said. “She’s a good defender. She gets her hand on a lot of balls. And again, I think she’s an underrated shooter because she has an unorthodox shot. It’s almost like she shoots it two-handed. But sometimes, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. She shoots the ball pretty well. I see her as a 35 percent 3-point shooter or better. And she’s getting more confident every time she steps on the floor, which is big for us.”

Another junior guard is Audi Medina.

“She’s finally learned how to make a layup,” Curtis said with a chuckle. “She struggled with it. A lot of it was mental with her. Because she’s short. She’s not very tall. But man, is she fast. I told her there’s no reason she shouldn’t average double figures just outrunning everybody and getting layups. She’s disruptive on defense. She can stay in front of anybody. She gets her hands on a lot of balls. She’s like a ballhawk on the back side. She gets a lot of steals just baiting people because they think they’re open and they’re not. She’ll be a fun one to have back this year too.”

Lane is a sophomore who is known for her shooting. Kinley Deadorff is another sophomore who also will step into a larger role.

“We were playing at Sheridan, and Sydney Lane hit eight 3s,” Curtis said. “She’s a sharpshooter, man, when she’s on. That was good to see. I think they’ve grown a lot since then. I know Kinley played varsity volleyball and was kind of a leader on the floor, and man, she’s really had a good first two weeks of practice. She’s been a vocal leader for us, she’s really learning how to play defense, and her shot has gotten lots better. It’s nice to see the development the younger kids are having here.”

Other sophomores include Remy Korreckt, Lexie McGovern and Freedom McHenry, who is currently out with a knee injury.

And as the younger players progress, they can rely on the older players to have made a habit of winning big games. Another favorite memory for Curtis was last year’s sectional semifinal against Northfield in which they trailed by four going into the fourth quarter and came back to win by seven.

The following night, they blitzed a Southwood team by 23 in the sectional final that had beaten them in the regular season by 15.

“I felt like a lot of it was being there before and knowing how to win in those tight games,” Curtis said. “I think our seniors will do a good job for us this year – Kayden Donaldson, Laina Kling. And like I said, we’ve got a good group of young kids too.”

In an addition to the schedule, Curtis said the Lady Warriors have added a tournament at Huntington North for Jan. 2.

Kearston Stout, a 2021 Northfield grad whose Lady Norse team lost to Pioneer in the semistate her senior season, is an addition to the coaching staff.

North Miami girls basketball schedule

Nov. 3 – vs. Western, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 – vs. North White, 5 p.m.

Nov. 11 – vs. Rochester, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 – at Southwood, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 19 – at Mississinewa, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 23 – vs. West Central, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 – at Triton, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8 – vs. Pioneer, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 – at Culver, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 – at Argos, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 16 – at Oregon-Davis, 6:30 p.m.