HEAD COACH

Ron Gates, third season

2020-21 OVERALL RECORD

0-19. Lost in Division 2 district quarterfinal to Oakridge

2020-21 CONFERENCE RECORD

0-8 

RETURNING STARTERS

Mia Martin, 5-9 junior center
Joh’Nia Heath 5-8 senior forward
Tionne Steward 5-5 junior forward

OV’s  Joh’Nia Heath

OTHER KEY RETURNEES

Elizabeth Estelle, 5-11 junior center
Ariana Davis, 5-5 junior guard
Hikari Katsuzawa, 5-3 junior guard

KEY NEWCOMERS

Marissa Hoeker, 6-2 junior forward

OV’s Tionne Steward

ANTICIPATED TEAM STRENGTHS

The Cardinals have a bit of height this year, a luxury they didn’t have the past couple of seasons. Gates said he has around 10 girls at 5-7 or taller, including one over 6-0. He’s hoping that height can help the team be better on the defensive end.

ANTICIPATED TEAM CHALLENGES

Taking care of the ball will be a primary focus for the Cardinals this season. Orchard View struggled with turnovers last year, leading to a lot of easy transition points for opponents.

CONFERENCE FAVORITES

OV’s Mia Martin

Gates expects Western Michigan Christian and Ludington to once again be the top teams in the Lakes 8.

FIRST GAME

The Cardinals open on the road at Wyoming Godwin Heights on Nov. 30 and at home on Dec. 3 against Zion Christian.

COACH QUOTE

“We have a lot of height this year. We’re hoping we can utilize some of that size this year, especially to match up against some of the bigger teams we face a lot, like Ludington and Western Michigan Christian. We’ve never had an answer for those teams because they’re just too big and we couldn’t rebound. We do have some athleticism, we do have some quickness, but the biggest thing, hopefully, will be our size.” – Ron Gates.100