The pressure is on Lisa Ashley.
Ashley, 45, recently was named the new girls basketball coach at Kentwood High, a position vacated by Dean Montzingo in late March. Montzingo, who spent two years at the helm of the Kentwood program, left with a solid 42-15 overall record and two state berths. Montzingo took over for Keith Hennig after the 2009 season. In six years with Kentwood, Hennig compiled a 136-25 record, a mark that included four straight state berths and a Class 4A title in 2009.
Ashley knows all about the history and expectations of taking the Kentwood job.
“I don’t know if I feel the pressure from Hennig and Montzingo, but my personal feeling is that knowing the success Kentwood has in sports, I think I put pressure on myself to have that high level of success, too,” she said.
Ashley coached Kentwood’s ‘C’ team the last two years, and possesses a strong background on the court, having played four years at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She also was an assistant at Kentridge from 1989-1995. As successful as the Conquerors have been for the past six years, taking over in the coming winter will present its share of challenges, Ashley admitted.
“It’s a young team, so we have to mature and find the strengths and build around those strengths,” she said.
Indeed the Conquerors are young.
Unlike when Montzingo took over, Ashley does not have the luxury of falling back on a team comprised mostly of returning players. Kentwood’s top three offensive players – Kylie Huerta (18.4 points per game), Liz Mills (13.7) and Courtney Johnson (10.1) – all graduated earlier this month. All three also were first-team all-league selections. In all, Kentwood graduated four starters from this year’s team, making the task at hand for Ashley all the more challenging.
That said, the expectations remain high, Ashley noted.
“State? Oh, yes, we do want to get back to state,” she said. “I hear a lot of people say, ‘You have a really young team.’ I don’t see why we have to be out of the mix. There’s a lot of talent on this team.
“They may be young, but there’s a lot of talent.”
Despite taking a heavy hit from graduation, the Conquerors should return sophomore-to-be Sarah Toeaina (6 points per game) and Maddison Rankin (2.9). Rankin, a defensive whiz, is the last remaining player from Kentwood’s 2009 state championship team. Ashley also will receive the opportunity to coach her daughter, Kylee, who earned some varsity minutes last winter as a sophomore.
Though taking over the Kentwood team comes with a certain level of expectations, Ashley looks forward to the challenge ahead.
“To be honest, I wasn’t going to take the job, but I’ve always wanted to be a head coach,” she said. “Part of the reason I took the job is because my daughter is on the team. I wasn’t going to apply (for a coaching job) until she was out of high school.”
Taking over the program this year made sense, especially considering Ashley’s experience with the current girls who will comprise the roster.
“I feel I have a really good rapport with the girls,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I went for it.”
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