The Akron-Westfield girls basketball team enters a new season with some newly-high expectations. The Westerners start the year as the eighth-best team in Class 1A according to the IGHSAU. However, the Westerners were dealt a tough blow during the volleyball season with Makenzie Hughes being sidelined with an injury to start the year. Head coach Kent Johnson says it is a tough situation, but that just means the next player needs to step up for a while.
Thankfully, the Westerners are not short on talent behind Hughes. Plenty of seniors return that can help carry the load for a time until Hughes returns to the lineup. Coach Johnson is expecting big things out of each and every one of their roles.
These early-season adversities would make less-experienced teams crumble. That is not the case with the Westerners who dealt with adversity in other sports too. Coach Johnson says they are a very coachable group, and he is excited to get to lead them this season.
The Westerners will get the season started with a bang against a Westwood squad who is ranked second to start the year and was a state semifinalist last year. Coach Johnson says, win or lose, he wants the girls to play a full 32 minutes of basketball to start the season right.
Tip-off is at 6:00 PM tonight in Akron.
