Private school coaches at Notre Dame Prep and St. Paul's will depend on senior leadership to help their girls basketball teams get to the upper echelon of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference.
Notre Dame Prep
Notre Dame Prep returns three veterans and has more size on its roster this season, so the biggest concern for coach Katie Marks is the progress made by her underclassmen.
"We are real excited about them (underclassmen). It's obviously a work in progress, but we see a lot of potential there," Marks said. "It's still a lot of learning going on."
In the meantime, the Blazers will rely on a trio of veteran leaders that includes junior forward Marisa DeLuca (6-0), senior guard Marissa Varnado (5-8) and senior small forward Brooke Holechek (5-9).
DeLuca averaged nine points and eight rebounds last year for the 10-9 Blazers, while Varnado (13.5 points per game) led the team in scoring.
"When she (Varnado) gets in a zone, she can hit shots pretty much from anywhere," said Marks, whose squad opens the season Dec. 4 at John Carroll before playing the home opener Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m. against Mount de Sales.
Holechek will have some competition at small forward with returning varsity sophomore Gil Eby (5-9) and sophomore Katie Railey (5-7).
Sophomore Halle Regan (5-3) and freshman Annika Meyer (5-4) are competing for the starting point guard slot.
Joining DeLuca on the low post will be either freshman Mary Price Suter (5-11) or freshman Morayo Adenegan (6-0).
"We haven't been in this situation for a long time with so many new kids," said Marks, who lost five seniors to graduation and had one freshman transfer. "The fact that they are young is obviously kind of a weakness, but it's also kind of a strength. They are really good at soaking in what we tell them and they are fun. There is usually some good energy at practice."
There should also be good energy around the basket with DeLuca, Suter and freshman Morayo Adenegan (6-0) all standing over 5-feet, 11 inches.
"It's just going to be nice to have two big kids down low," Marks said. "It's going to be harder for other teams to match up with us and it's going to hopefully help us out a little bit."
Sophomores Amanda Jagadesan (5-3), Kate Behlen (5-7) and Tatum Moore (5-10) round out the squad.
St. Paul's School for Girls
All the starters are back from last year's senior-less 9-10 squad.
But what the Gators return in six veterans, who have all played varsity for four seasons, they lack in bench experience.
Senior Kaci McNeave (5-3) returns as the point guard and one of the leading scorers, along with senior two-guard Sharon Hull (5-7).
"If one of them is on, we are doing OK, if both of them are off, we've got a problem," coach Pat Conrad said.
McNeave was selected to the league all-star team and Hull is knocking on the door for post-season honors.
Senior Alex Wright (5-5) returns at wing and Quinn Conrad (5-5) takes over again at power forward.
Senior Corinna Vlahoyiannis (5-9) is the starting center and sixth man Sara Moeller (5-6) can help out in the backcourt or down low.
"They have been playing together for four years and they really caught fire at the end of last year," Conrad said. "We went on a run and they really came together as a group, so I'm looking forward to keeping that momentum going."
One of the keys to the late-season surge was pressure defense.
"It was defense and fitness," Conrad said. "Defense definitely turned things around. Once they got in shape and figured out how to play defense and communicate, then we went on that run."
Evie Tripolitis (5-0), Grace Boyce (5-9), Sophia Watkinson (5-6), Lilli Pursley (5-10) and Kennedy Praileau (5-0) complete the roster.
St. Paul's opened the season with a 53-47 loss to Annapolis Area Christian School, but the Gators bounced back in the home opener with a 51-42 triumph over Maryvale Prep.
The Gators are home again on Saturday, Dec. 6 against Maret School for Girls at 1 p.m.