St. Vincent girls basketball enters season with hopes of remaining competitive

It's a time of transition for the St. Vincent girls basketball program.

The Indians enter this season with a new head coach, four new starters and a different overall philosophy, all geared toward improving on last season's 8-14 mark.

Second-year head coach Chad Unterreiner likes what he sees so far.

"Every team has its own identity," Unterreiner said. "We'll have a different type of team this year. You have to play to your players."

With just three seniors in the program, the Indians will be young, but Unterreiner believes they will also be competitive.

"When they're young, they're hungry," he said, noting the success of the Indians' junior varsity team last season. "But what can they do at the varsity level?"

Unterreiner said that one key to the Indians' success this season will be their on-court communication. Because of a lack of size inside, the Indians will count on tough defense to alleviate some of the pressure on their inside players.

"We're a smaller team," he said. "For us to be effective, we'll have to be scrappy."

Players to watch

Unterreiner hopes his young squad develops quickly. Whoever steps up will join lone returning starter Faith Kapp, a junior forward who averaged about nine points a game last season. Kapp is a good cornerstone for the Indians, as Unterreiner cited her work ethic as a key to providing leadership for his young squad.

"The ball always seemed to find her last year," he said.

Three seniors -- shooting guard Emma Janet, point guard Emily Welker and forward Sammie Pritchard -- will also serve as mentors to a squad dominated by underclassmen.

Unterreiner is hoping sophomore Jackie Horstman will develop into an inside presence for the Indians.

"She'll start out the season on the (junior varsity)," Unterreiner said. "But she can give us some size inside."

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Class 2 District 3

Conference

Jefferson County Activities Association -- Small Schools Division

Head coach

Chad Unterreiner

(2nd year)

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ROSTER

No. Player Year Ht.

10 Emily Welker 12 5-8

14 Alayna Layton 11 5-7

15 Samantha Pritchard 12 5-3

22 Emma Janet 12 5-9

23 Jamie Best 11 5-11

24 Faith Kapp 11 5-8

30 Hannah Gotto 11 5-8

32 Madison Mingione 11 5-4

STARTERS GONE

Kylie Baer

Alex Koisher

Courtney Brown

Paige Yamnitz

STARTERS BACK

Faith Kapp

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SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

11/30 Valle Catholic Tourn.

12/1 Delta 7:30 p.m.

12/9 @Kingston 7:30 p.m.

12/10 Fredericktown 7:30 p.m.

12/14 Meadow Heights 7:30 p.m.

12/15 @Valle Catholic 7:30 p.m.

1/4 Delta New Years Inv. Tourn.

1/12 @Saxony Lutheran 7:30 p.m.

1/14 @Grandview 7:30 p.m.

1/15 Crystal City 7:30 p.m.

1/25 Chaffee 7:30 p.m.

1/28 Jefferson 7:30 p.m.

1/30 vs. Perryville 2 p.m.

2/2 St. Pius X 7:30 p.m.

2/3 @Ste. Genevieve 7:30 p.m.

2/4 @Chester (Ill.) 7:45 p.m.

2/11 @Herculaneum 7:30 p.m.

2/15 @Oran 7:30 p.m.

2/17 Scott City 7:30 p.m.

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LAST SEASON

RECORD

8-15