‘Everyone just brings something different’ for revamped George Rogers Clark girls team

On Jan. 18, midway through the George Rogers Clark 2022-23 girls basketball season, the Cardinals lost 73-66 at Frederick Douglass. It was disappointing, and certainly not how head coach Robbie Graham and his talented roster wanted the difficult matchup to end.

But fast forward to Friday night, Dec. 15 in Clark County, at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, when the Broncos (2-3) came to town for another challenge against the Cardinals. George Rogers Clark appeared poised and ready to handle any team in the state, opening up an early lead that would only grow along the way to a running-clock, 80-37 victory to improve to 6-0 this season.

“We shot the ball really well,” Graham said. “You know, probably as good as we’ve shot it in a long time. That’s an extra bonus, but defensively I think, you know, we always hang our hat on defense. We want to score, get in our press, cause havoc on defense, turnovers, easy baskets. and we definitely were able to do that from start to finish.”

So what’s different about the 2023-24 George Rogers Clark roster?

Last season brought many highs, including the 40th District and 10th Region championship trophies and a trip to the KHSAA Sweet 16 before falling in the semifinals to eventual state champion Sacred Heart Academy by four points. The Cardinals also got to celebrate three seniors — Brianna Byars (now at Cincinnati), Trinity Gay and Brook Taylor — during their final year with the program.

Prior to the 2023-24 school year, the program added three players with major impact potential: Mercer County transfer Teigh Yeast, Bryan Station transfer Jailenn Green and Central Hardin transfer Khania Jones. Each has found a rhythm with their new team, which features a pesky defense that, ideally, feeds a high-powered offense led by Ciara Byars, one of three returning starters from last season.

Byars, considered the No. 37 overall prospect in the class of 2025, finished with 17 points against the Broncos on Friday. She was one of four players to score in double figures, alongside fellow starters Anaya Chestnut (17), Kennedy Stamper (14) and Yeast (11). Jones and Green added eight and five points, respectively. According to Byars, this team’s depth is what sets it apart from past years.

“We’ve always had a really good bench,” Byars said. “But I think everyone just brings something different to the table. And whether you play us man or zone, we can get it going. We’re going to start inside the paint, establish a presence there and then make our way out. And I mean, especially with double teams and things like that, our girls are too good for you to leave them wide-open.”

The Cardinals’ offensive attack works at all three levels, with multiple scoring threats on the floor at all times. And it’s not limited to position, either. For example, against the Broncos, GRC opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers en route to an 11-2 start. The Cardinals finished with 15 made shots from beyond the arc.

“Tonight, I think we really shared the ball well,” Yeast said. “We all shot the ball well. We attacked like Coach Graham’s been trying to get us to do.”

At George Rogers Clark, that attack and ability to create offensive opportunities off the back of effective defense is the name of the game, and it will serve as one of the program’s keys to success as they work to continue to grow and prove themselves. And Yeast, who wreaked havoc on both ends of the floor for Mercer County, is continuing that style of play in her new uniform.

Yeast said she loves it at GRC, and that she loves playing with her new teammates. Byars said Yeast is “a threat from everywhere. Definition of a three-level scorer.” And, according to Graham, she’s both “a great kid” and “probably one of the better athletes in the state,” but she’s still working towards her full potential.

“We try to get her to be more aggressive at times,” Graham said. “Because I think she’s still like, you know, ‘Should I? Should I not?” Just go be you, you know, you’re an athlete. You shoot the ball. You use your athleticism to attack the basket, you open shoot it. And at times we’ve got to kind of push a little bit to go, go, go. But she’s gaining confidence, she’s getting more comfortable and we really like her progression.”

Yeast, alongside her fellow new additions and the other members of GRC’s young roster — guard Makili Tabor is the team’s lone senior — are focusing hard on the day-to-day: tough practices, a competitive schedule and continued learning as the season goes on. But Friday night’s victory wasn’t just a redemption win for the Cardinals; the dominant showing demonstrated to outsiders once again what’s been true for a while — George Rogers Clark will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.

George Rogers Clark’s Kennedy Stamper (0), Teigh Yeast (2) and Makili Tabor (24) fight for a loose ball with Frederick Douglass’ Niah Rhodes during Friday’s game in Winchester.

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