A familiar face will lead the Lady Panthers as the team heads into the 2023-24 round ball season.
Aubrey McMaster, a 2018 Jefferson High graduate, is taking the helm as the newest head coach of the Jefferson High girl’s basketball team. After coaching the C team last year, McMaster is familiar with the players and poised to build on the successes of her predecessor, Sarah Layng.
“I learned a lot from [Layng] when I was a player at Jefferson, and that continued on my first year of coaching there,” McMaster said. “I was able to trust her right away and value her opinion because she knows the game of basketball so well.”
Jefferson finished second in the state in 2022, but last season ended with an early exit from the South Division tournament. In their final game, the Panthers led Manhattan through two quarters, taking a 23-18 lead. But the Tigers outscored Jefferson 26-14 in the second half to secure a comeback victory.
“They just came out firing,” Layng said. “They just made more shots than us. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
McMaster has seen it all. As a 5’ 11” guard, she averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in two years at Jefferson — and 17 points per game in her senior year. She capped her high school hoops career by scoring 72 points in three games at the 2018 divisional tournament.
She signed to play basketball at Montana Tech, averaging 4.3 points in her redshirt freshman year before transferring to Yellowstone Christian College.
She knows nothing is guaranteed. “I didn’t expect [to get the job], but I am just happy to be here and I feel confident it was what was supposed to happen.”
In her short time as head coach, McMaster has garnered the respect of her student-athletes and her former mentor.
“She brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” said Layng, who resigned as basketball coach after the 2023 season but still serves as Jefferson’s athletic director. “She has really good basketball knowledge and experience.”
Energy and enthusiasm are something that the Lady Panthers are going to need in spades if they hope to improve on the 16-8 season of last year. With a relatively young team, McMaster says that she wants her team to be the hardest working every night out.
A senior team captain, MacKenzie Layng said, “I think there will be a lot of growth this year. We are young, and I am excited to see our advancing skill level and our ability to play together.”
The Panthers lost two key players to graduation last year: Izzy Morris led the 2022-23 team in scoring, and Austie May was the top rebounder. But Layng, a guard who was second last year in both scoring and assists, told The Monitor that she is confident in her teammates and coaching staff, adding that the hoopers are a “run-and-gun” style team with an ability to spread the floor. And senior Arena Faler and junior Cameron Toney will return to anchor the forecourt.
In her aim to make a deep run in the post-season, McMaster is supported by assistant coaches Jack Dolan (JV) and Brady Dawson (C). Both are new to the team. “I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff,” McMaster said. “They each bring so much to the team.”
The Panthers will get their first taste of action Dec. 8 and 9 at the Red Lodge tournament, but the game many will be looking forward to is the rematch with Manhattan on Dec. 15.
“Boulder is a basketball town,” McMaster said. “They always show out at all of the games. I am really grateful for the community and all of their support.”
