Cowgirl Basketball Invites Media To Final Summer Practice
The summer portion of the Cowgirl basketball schedule ended on Wednesday with a media session and invited open practice inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Coach Jacie Hoyt and players LA Sneed and Stailee Heard met with reporters for 10 minutes each inside the auxiliary gym before practice began.
This was the first time that the media was allowed into practice since the summer session began.
“I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ve put together and the way that it’s come along during the summer,” Hoyt said. “I absolutely love being in the gym with this group. They have exceeded all of the expectations that I had.”
A portal exodus following the end of last season left Heard as the only player on the roster when the portal window opened.
“She got all the attention and I’m not sure that she loved that,” Hoyt said. “She got in and she worked hard and it was really neat to see her understand that it was an opportunity for her to really grow her individual game.”
As the roster spots filled Heard struggled to grasp the reality of her new teammates.
“It didn’t really hit me until everyone started to move in,” Heard said. “I was like OK I see the names and I see that they’re committing but it just wasn’t hitting me at the time.”
On Wednesday Heard was seen several times taking shots from beyond the arc. Three-point shooting has never been the strongest part of Heard’s game but the shots were falling during the open practice and it has been a point of emphasis during offseason workouts.
“That’s been a part of her game that has been a little less consistent than what we wanted,” Hoyt said. “I think this spring has been really good for her to grow in her confidence and work on parts of her game.”
For all the talent that has signed with the Cowgirls this offseason, one thing the team still lacks is postseason experience.
“Audi Crooks has won one NCAA tournament game in her three years, Liv McGill has never played in an NCAA tournament and the majority of our kids haven’t been,” Hoyt said. “We have really high expectations for ourselves and no one has higher expectations than I do but at the same time there’s some building that’s going to need to take place.”
While Crooks and McGill get the majority of the headlines, their teammates also wanted the media to remember other members of the roster.
“Someone to look out for is Talexa Weeter,” Sneed said. “People underestimate her because she came from Division II but she’s going to be a big problem for people.”
The Cowgirls now have a two-week off period before the beginning of the fall semester.
