ND GIRLS BOAST STRONG SOPHOMORE CLASS

Notre Dame girls gave their fans a glimpse of the future at the end of last year, and the view was impressive to say the least.

When last seen, the Lady Bulldogs were standing in the Class 2A quarterfinals with three freshmen on the floor.

They now boast three talented sophomores, five seniors with varsity experience, two juniors off a strong JV team and one optimistic coach in Jerry Grim.

"I try not to be too optimistic," said Grim, "but as long as they play hard, teams are going to have to work their rears off to beat us."

Notre Dame, which played in 2A state championships games in 1995 and 1997, will be shooting for a fourth straight district championship this year.

"We want to be peaking at district time," said Grim. "A district championship is always the goal and hopefully we'll go farther than that again this year. The ultimate goal is to get to the state championship game."

Seniors returning are guard Michelle Hency (5-4) and forwards Bonnie Essner (5-7), Jessica Seratti (5-11), Emily Lange (5-9) and Jennifer Bucher (5-10).

Junior guard Katie Canfield (5-6) and junior forward Amber Elfrink (5-9) join the varsity from the JV.

But the real engine for a playoff drive lies within the sophomore class. The group contains 5-11 center Deana McCormick, 5-10 forward Lisa Millham and point guard Courtney Vickery (5-7).

Freshman Ashley Millham, Lisa's sister, will likely be in the mix by season's end. McCormick, who joined the varsity just after Christmas, averaged 8.8 points per game as a freshman, but averaged 15 points in the playoffs. She also pulled down eight rebounds a game.

"She's going to be one of the premier big players in the area, I'm sure," said Grim.

Lisa Millham averaged 5.4 points per game after she and Vickery joined the varsity later in the season.

"I look for (Lisa) to do a lot of scoring this year," said Grim. "She can play inside, but she can shoot the 3 and drive inside. She's really matured her game."

Grim looks for Vickery to continue her strong play from the end of last year when she directed the Lady Bulldog offense.

"She did a really great job," said Grim. "Her best thing is she sees the floor and makes the passes."

Vickery can also hit the outside shot along with Millham and Hency.

"We'll be alright scoring," said Grim. "My emphasis has always been defense and getting in people's faces and making them earn their points. Hopefully that will pay off for us." Grim likes to play an up-tempo style and said depth is a little bit of a concern.

"I like to get it up and down the floor and we need to have people step up and do some things," said Grim. "But I do think we have some young people that will be able to do that this year."

Notre Dame opened its season last week in a round-robin tournament in Perryville.