MUNCIE, Ind. — The Muncie Central Girls’ Basketball team had a historic low 2-20 record last season, but a first-year head coach is not allowing history to repeat itself.
The girls’ basketball season is still young, but the Bearcats have already tied their wins from last season in just four games. The team also picked up their first conference win and are riding on a two-game win streak.
Saturday night, the Frankton Eagles visited the field house, just a year after beating the Bearcats 81-25. The Bearcats beat Marion the night before, and did not lose focus against the non-conference opponent.
The Scrappy Bearcats team found a way to be physical and outhustled the Eagles team. The quickness led to a win for Muncie Central, beating Frankton 51-38, just a year after the 56-point loss.
“We’ve been trying to get back at it since they did give us a good game last year,” Muncie Central Junior Kadence Smith said. “We were determined to play better than we did last year.”
Smith said that the team knew that they are a fast-paced team and wanted to make the game physical. The physicality was too much for Frankton and will be a talking point for the rest of the year.
“We have a coach who is very determined to win,” Muncie Central Junior Chloe Pugh said. “He is very uplifting when we need it.”
Head coach Dameon Wyatt is making his presence felt and wants to develop his players further than just basketball. He believes that winning starts with personal life and actions off the court.
“We are trying to build a nice mindset that goes further than the basketball court,” Head coach Dameon Wyatt said. “That is something that we are pushing without culture.”
Wyatt’s players have bought into what he is teaching, and it is starting to pay off. He wants his players to succeed in all aspects of their lives.
“Good people are good basketball players, but not all good basketball players are good people,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt aims to apply what he teaches his girls about basketball into their real life as well. He tries to help them when they face adversity and things go wrong. He also strives to show the girls how to react when they fail and learn from it.
The Bearcats are back in action Nov. 23 at home against Blackford. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. at Muncie Fieldhouse.
Contact Josh Gabbard with any questions. Joshua.gabbard@bsu.edu.
