Miller, Grebe lead Lady Pointers to state

Lexi Miller and Emmalee Grebe have provided the perfect stability for the otherwise young Lady Pointers this season.? “It allowed you to lock in a game plan or your attack offensively and defensively with Lexi being a point guard is a great place to start and then anchor that with another senior in Emmalee on the back end whether as a low-post threat or as a rim protector and the back layer of the defense,” Van Buren head coach Chris Bryant said. ’It’s great to have seniors at those two areas.”? Miller and Grebe are Van Buren’s only seniors this year, and they’ve provided the necessary leadership.? “They’ve been great seniors for us,” Bryant said. “They’ve done a lot of things behind the scenes as far as showing up in the box score. As far as leadership and running a locker room, they’ve been more than you can ask for.”? Miller started last year and Grebe gained a lot of experience as one of the first players off the bench with a lot of starts this season.? “They’ve allowed younger players to learn as they’ve grown up,” Bryant said. “If you look from the beginning of the year to now, you’ll see that growth in those players. They’re a large part of the stability that Lexi and Emmalee provide.”? Bryant knew Miller and Grebe would be instrumental if the Lady Pointers were going to survive a rugged nonconference schedule as well as a brutal start to the 6A-West slate.? “Nothing came easy for this group,” Bryant said. “We had to grow up as we went along. We were challenged early and often. It’s a credit not only to the seniors but to this group of younger players that have been a long for the ride to play our best basketball at the year of the year that allows these seniors to play in their third straight state tournament.”? Van Buren managed a 6-7 conference mark but lost its first five games of the 6A-West that included Rogers, Fayetteville and Bentonville, before winning the final two games of the opening half of the double round-robin schedule.? “When you start with the teeth of the schedule, those first three teams were really capability of taking the wind out of the sails as far as from a confidence standpoint,” Bryant said. “I’m really pleased with how our kids kept coming to practice, kept getting better, and kept putting us in a position.”? Again, the final half, Van Buren lost five straight but were much more competitive and Bryant could see his Lady Pointers had the necessary ingredient to again earn a spot in the state tournament.? “Solid, grounded veteran seniors that continued to hold the rope and the process of these young players coming into their own,” Bryant said. “Then maybe fine tuning. We’re pretty system oriented. We realized that the back half of the conference after the turn, we were going to have to make some adjustment from the way we had always done things. That was noticeable. We were more inside oriented. We didn’t take as many first-touch, quick threes. Our shot selection improved dramatically.”? The Lady Pointers have become such a skillful 3-point shooting team that opponents have worked to take that away so they have turned to the inside more.? “That’s true,” Miller said. “I haven’t had as many opportunities to shoot or drive, but I think I’m finding girls to get good looks. We’ve had teams guarding us more.”? Van Buren had an exciting final week of the season with the necessary wins at Bentonville West and then at home against Springdale.? “Definitely, because we knew what was the one and line,” Grebe. “It was pure excitement and joy. It always good to win on Senior Night.”? The road win set the tone for the final home game of the season.? “It was pretty amazing,” Grebe said. “Tuesday, we got into the rhythm of how we should be playing. I felt like it went uphill and hopefully, it will continue.”?

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

MILLER, GREBE LEAD LADY POINTERS TO STATE

LELAND BARCLAY

Times Record | 3/5/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: Van Buren High School Athletics