By: Shynia McElveen
Oyler Social Studies Teacher Joe Saylor, coach of Oyler’s Mad Hatters Girls’ Basketball, has been a coach for three years and took over the girls’ team this year. He also coaches girls’ softball.
Asked how the season has been, Saylor said, “The season has been challenging to say the least. We are starting our program over after a year-long hiatus, playing a very challenging schedule, and learning to work together as a team–all at the same time. We have played some really good teams, and have shown improvement in each game. We have a young team. Most of our ladies are playing at Varsity level for the first time, and that has taken some getting used to. The ladies have practiced and played hard all season long, and that hard work will pay off in the long term.”
He added, “The three seniors, Tyla Iacobucci, Janasya Griffith, and Devon Owens have been great. They have taken on the challenge of leading this young team. We hired Alexis Swisher, Fifth Grade Math Teacher, and Autumn Hall, College Success Coach, as first year assistant coaches, and they have been great assets to our program.”
Asked about how the rest of the season looked, Saylor replied, “We are playing a tough stretch of nine games in a row away from Oyler. The ladies are all working hard and set a goal to beat rival Gamble on senior night here at Oyler on February 8th, but lost to Gamble . This game was a challenge. We played them really tough a few weeks earlier, but couldn’t get the win. We were looking forward to playing them in our gym. But they are in first place in our division right now, and, although we lost those games, they are still hat we are striving to be.
“Our future is very bright. With our freshmen Tatiyana Canady, Keeziah Britten, and our sophomore, J J Cross, we have the potential to be “All-League” players. Freshman Jessa Scott is a great athlete who works super hard, has started almost every game, and battles against players who are usually bigger and taller than she is. But she never backs down. She has even caught an Uber [ride] a few times to make it to weekend and holiday practices. Freshman Keilia Stevenson is a pure scorer and brings a ton of energy on offense. Sophomore Martasia Famble has been great defensively and continues to get better and better on offense. And Junior Nariah Williams and Sophomore Nikeala Preston are both in line to possibly start next season. They have been big contributors late in the season. I am proud of these young ladies. They have worked hard all year, and I definitely feel good about the next few seasons.”