Andrean sophomore forward Delaney Myers describes herself as easygoing.
Teammate Lailoni Staten agrees, but only up to a point.
“She’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind, do a little dance or crack a joke,” Staten said. “She’s the jokester in the locker room and on the bench.
“But she’s also hard-going and competitive. You’ll notice how often she ends up on the ground. She’s not afraid of contact while driving to the basket, taking charges or diving for 50-50 balls.”
That mindset led Andrean coach Tony Scheub to believe the 5-foot-7 Myers could handle more of an offensive workload in her second varsity season following the graduation of the two leading scorers from the 2025 Class 2A sectional championship team.
“We’re looking for her to score a little bit more, maybe even a lot more,” Scheub said. “We’re putting her in positions she wasn’t in last year, when she was strictly a defensive player. She played because she could defend and rebound.
“Now we’re looking for her to score, and each game she’s starting to see what she needs to do. But her role defensively hasn’t changed.”
Myers, who guards the opposing team’s best player, has more than tripled her scoring output this season. Through 10 games, Myers was averaging a team-high 9.8 points, a team-high 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals for the defending Northwest Crossroads Conference champion 59ers (4-7, 1-2).
But scoring had never been Myers’ focus, so she had reservations about transforming her game. In a short time, however, she has proved to be more than capable of providing a scoring punch even as she leans on what she does best.
“It’s really hard,” Myers said. “I didn’t know how I was going to do it. So I just tell myself I can always control my defense. If I miss a shot, I can get back on the defensive end and make it up. If I turn the ball over, I can get it back on defense or grab a rebound.
“If it’s not my night offensively, I try to make it up defensively.”
Scheub acknowledged the role may be a lot for a sophomore, but he thinks Myers will thrive in the long run.
“With her determination, work ethic and the kind of kid she is, I can see her eventually averaging a double-double,” Scheub said. “I don’t see why that would be out of the realm of possibility because she’s going to keep getting better, not only for herself, but for her teammates.
“I know she’s willing to put in the work, and not only will it make her better, but it’ll make our team better.”
But Myers, who also plays volleyball, remains solely focused on the present. Hoping the 59ers have turned a corner this season, she points to a recent 45-28 win over Griffith.
“I think we’re starting to click again,” she said. “We got off the road a little bit, but we’re finally getting back on.
“Against Griffith, we played hard and showed just because our record isn’t where we want it, that doesn’t mean we aren’t capable of dominating on the court. We did what we were supposed to and shut them down from the beginning, and I think we’ll only keep growing and hopefully continue to build confidence too.”
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.