Homestead “only” won 19 games last season. It was a low for the Spartans after four straight seasons with 20 or more wins. Yet, Homestead has not won less than 19 games since 2011-2012 and you have to go back to 2008-2009 to see them win less than 14 in a season.
Do not expect many, if any, of those trends to change in 2023-24.
Homestead returns five players from last season and four of significant consequence, including one of Northeast Indiana’s most intriguing prospects that has loads of Division 1 potential already and did even coming out of middle school.
Myah Epps goes into her sophomore season with the Spartans as the top returning scorer after averaging 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and three assists per game last season. She leads a guard heavy lineup that also returns her class of 2026 classmates Carley Moellering and Whitney Ankenbruck and guard/forward Gabby Helsom.
The four of them will make for a dangerous lineup for Homestead for years to come after getting their feet wet as freshmen. Helsom averaged a very balanced 5.6 points, 4.4 rebound and four assists as a freshman while Ankenbruck was good last season for 2.8 points per contest.
Homestead will carry just one senior in Emma Reust, who averaged eight points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game last season but an ACL injury will keep her out for the majority of the season. Hopes and expectations are both that she will be back in January for some key SAC games and then the postseason.
The graduation of many pieces, some key and others who were great for intangible parts of the game means that Homestead will need to rely on new faces.
Guards Liv Fry, Selin Oescan, Delaney Seitz and Eva Scarbeary and 6-foot forward Clare Burda will all be called upon to step up on the varsity level. Burda is another member of that high quality Class of 2026 group.
“The 2023-24 Spartans will be full of young talent. We only have one senior, Emma Reust, on
the roster so we will rely heavily on our sophomore and junior classes,” said Homestead coach Rod Parker. “The key to success is how quickly younger players step into larger roles on both ends of the court. We expect consistent scoring from our sophomore class. We will also need to be versatile on the defensive end of the court and rebound the ball well.”
WHY #4?
The Rod Parker effect? That can’t be all, but lets face facts that Parker has found a way to have one of the most consistent top end teams in the entire state of Indiana. Rod Parker teams aren’t bad and even with just a handful of returners back, you can always count on Parker to contend.
It helps too that those four returners are all Top 50 players who are going to play on the next level and most of them are just getting started in their high school careers.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
While Epps has proven she can score a ton and score in key moments, there is a lot to be replaced in this Spartan lineup when it comes to experience and when you look at the scoring vacated by the graduation of Ali Stephens.
While we expect it from Homestead’s next crop, the depth of the rosters of the teams above them in the area means that we have to see it to believe it.
KEY GAME
November 14 at Norwell
While there are plenty of battles that await Homestead in the SAC, they don’t come until the tail end of the regular season with January 12 against Snider and January 26 opposite Northrop. Big deal for the Spartans: both of those critical games for a possible SAC crown come at home after they’ve had time to develop all season.
Norwell is an intriguing one because the Knights have the bodies to match up with Homestead nearly everywhere on the court. The game comes early in the season, just Homestead’s third and Norwell’s fourth; this coming after Norwell gets earlier tests like Warsaw.
And finally, is there a harder place to play than The Castle?
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