Van Buren County guard Abigail Netherton wants to lead the Eagles back to the state tournament for a third consecutive season and advance beyond last year’s first-round exit.
Netherton said the Eagles are building on a 28-5 season that ended in Murfreesboro, with their sights set on reaching the state championship game. She said the disappointment of last year’s early exit has strengthened the team’s determination to make a deeper postseason run.
“We definitely want to get back and get even farther this time,” Netherton said. “We got put out in the first round, so we’re looking to get to the second round and then to the championship.”
Netherton said her own development has been an important part of preparing for the season. Since her freshman year, she has improved her ball-handling and expanded her offensive game beyond three-point shooting to become a more versatile scorer.
“Since my freshman season, I’ve gotten a lot better at being able to bring the ball up the court and just being able to handle it,” Netherton said. “My three-point shooting was good then, but now I’m much more of a three-level scorer.”
Netherton said her offseason work also emphasized defense, particularly handling physical contact and preventing opponents from scoring. She believes contributing on both ends of the floor is essential to helping the Eagles compete against stronger opponents.
“Scoring isn’t everything,” Netherton said. “To win games you have to be able to get stops and you can’t be a liability on defense. Even if you’re super good at offense, you still have to be able to guard your girl and get some steals too.”
Netherton said building trust among teammates is another priority as Van Buren County prepares for the season with a different roster. She said strong relationships away from basketball translate into better communication and confidence during games.
“You don’t ever want to have someone on the team that doesn’t trust you and doesn’t want to pass to you,” Netherton said. “If you like them off-court, then you’re going to also like them on-court. It just helps a lot to be friends with them.”
Netherton said she also wants to lead by example for younger players, helping them understand the expectations of a program that has reached the state tournament in each of the past two seasons.