In Wes Krull’s head coaching debut, the Parsons Vikings girls got beat by the Girard Trojans, 69-31, on Friday night.
Ball security was prohibitively problematic for the Vikings, who trailed the Trojans, 27-12, through the first quarter.
“In the first half, I don’t know if it was jitters, but it was definitely turnovers,” Krull said. “Yeah, you can say Girard shot a high percentage. But it was all layups. Taking care of the ball is something we talk about and we just didn’t execute.”
Kadence Ball led the Vikings with a dozen points.
“When things go bad, we have to be together and stay positive,” Krull said. “Things went bad for us, and she was our anchor. She kept things up on the floor.”
Parsons entered the season with only two players who earned varsity letters last year — Braelyn Hinman-Mitchell and Alex Stoneberger — back on the roster.
“We’re an inexperienced team getting used to game speed,” Krull said. “We’re just a little slower at picking that up than I anticipated.”
Friday’s girls game was also the first game in school history played with a shot clock. KSHSAA is running a trial for the shot clock this year and schools had the option to institute it for the season. The SEK League unanimously voted to have a shot clock.
“It will be fine,” Krull said. “I want to do it because it’s getting more common. I like it. Right now, I’m more worried about turnovers than the end of the shot clock. I’ll be happy if we hold on to the ball for 35 seconds.”
While the Vikings looked outmatched on Friday night, Girard will likely be one of the best teams Parsons plays throughout the campaign.
“Girard is a good, solid team that’s really sound,” Krull said. “They went to state. I knew we were facing some experienced players.”
Up next
Parsons plays in the T-Bird Classic next week, with matchups against Mulvane, Collegiate and Circle. The Vikings host Mulvane on Tuesday.
“We’re going to be looking at ourselves and making sure we can execute,” Krull said. “The girls understand what we’re trying to do. And it’s sound. We just have to relax, be comfortable and execute.”
