Experienced Arlington girls dream of districts

ARLINGTON — The Arlington girls basketball team is poised for a strong season.

The team returns a solid nucleus of players from last season — Arlington probably returns more varsity players than any other team in the league this year — including four-year starter and leading scorer Kyra Prause, junior forward Quinn Kesselring, junior post Alisha Murrin and senior three-point specialist Sheryl Scheppele.

Better yet, the girls are growing into the post scheme they've been running the last several years under head coach Nathan Davis. With another year under her belt, Murrin is taller and tougher and poised to be a stronger presence in the paint for Arlington. She'll likely share time and space down there with junior Tiffany Daggett, who spent time coming in off the bench last season.

"I think a couple things that you'll see when you watch us play this year you're going to see us a lot better in the post area," Davis said.

While the girls finished near the bottom of the standings last season as a 3A squad, they went deep into the district tournament with virtually the same personnel they return this year, finishing two games away from a berth to the 3A state tournament.

When talking about his upcoming season though, Davis talks as much about the strength of his incoming freshman class as many of his returning players. The program is fed by a strong class of club basketball players, who were AAU champions as eighth-graders.

"I've got some strong freshmen coming in, so you'll see us better down low," Davis added. Exactly which freshmen will see varsity time this year remains to be seen however, as Davis spoke about them generally before finalizing his rosters this season.

With known quantities in team leaders Kesselring and Utah Valley-bound Prause, though, the team's success could boil down to the strength of the team's next three to five players.

"We're pushing for a playoff spot," Davis said. "I think we can finish in the (league's) top five."

Arlington Times Sports Reporter Danielle Szulczewski can be reached at dszulczewski@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300.

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