BY BILL SPINKS

HERALD DEMOCRAT

Sherman's girls finished last year's basketball season strongly, winning four of their final six games to tie for fourth place in a very tough District 9-4A.

However, with only three Lady Cat seniors and five total letterwinners returning off that squad -- what head coach Allan Pope sees as perhaps the least amount of experience among all 9-4A members -- Pope doesn't expect much carryover from last season's late run.

"If we'd made the playoffs, it might've carried over more," he said. "But the kids know what to expect. Every game matters. I think there were some lessons learned last year."

With that small nucleus of veterans, and some new kids up from junior varsity, the Lady Cats will tip off the 2009-10 campaign tonight at Bearcat Gymnasium against Bonham.

Pope said the team will also honor military veterans at tonight's game in conjunction with Veterans Day, which is Wednesday.

Pope, in his second season at Sherman, started a new format when practice began Oct. 21, in which the players come in early in the morning. So far, he's pleased with the results.

"We start practicing at 6:45, and it's gone really well," he said. "The kids have bought into it, and they're a solid unit. The kids are pulling for each other, and I like the attitude and the spirit of the kids. They work hard and will give their best every night."

The senior trio of Victoria James, Shaquoia Mask and Anna Sciortino lead the way for the Lady Cats. James and Mask played extensively during last season's 14-17 campaign, while Sciortino also lettered. A fourth senior, Paige Vandeventer, rejoins the basketball team this fall after concentrating on softball last winter.

Junior Anna Jones and sophomore Jada Bennett earned letters last season on varsity. They will be joined by varsity newcomers Cailey Sherrill and Matiyah Brown, both sophomore guards, as well as Candace Mullens, Rachel Stevens and Joy Blanton, who are up from the JV.

"They had a good run last year (on JV)," Pope said. "There's a lot of pressure when you run the show as sophomores, but I'm pleased with their progress."

The entire team will be asked to take up the scoring slack left by the graduation of Alicia Peterson, who averaged 24.3 points per game a year ago. Peterson is now a freshman at the University of Texas, getting ready for the spring indoor and outdoor track seasons.

All 11 members of the varsity will get a lot of minutes in Pope's system.

"We play a lot of people," he said. "All of them are expected to know their roles and perform, and we establish that early on. With our schedule, we have to be ready to go."

After tonight's opener against Bonham, the Lady Cats have a nine-day break to get ready for the always-competitive Allen tournament. Then after a back-to-back Nov. 23-24 against Howe at home and then at Sanger, the team goes on another extended hiatus until Dec. 8, when they travel to Burkburnett.

"We have some breaks in our schedule that will allow us to refocus," Pope said. "It's important for us to have time together to practice. We're going to go slow, but I think the kids can play hard."

Immediately after the Decatur tournament Dec. 10-12, the Lady Cats dive headlong into 9-4A play and draw a tough opener against preseason favorite Frisco, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and No. 7 by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. In fact, all four Frisco ISD schools swept the playoff berths last February.

"Our district is highly competitive," Pope said. "Frisco is the favorite, and one of the favorites in the state. McKinney North's going to be better than they have been, but all of us are looking up at Frisco High."