BRAVETTES HAVE QUALITY BUT LACK NUMBERS

Scott County Central girls basketball coach coach Semona Penrod hopes quality will be more beneficial than quantity is detrimental.

The Bravettes have just nine players in the entire program -- there will be no junior varsity team -- but Penrod does have some talent returning from last year's squad which went 16-10 and went to the state quarterfinals.

Junior Brandy Miller (5-foot-10 post player) and 5-7 point guard Lakeya Turner were starters on last year's squad and the addition of Vontrice Blackmon (5-5) should give Scott Central a good nucleus to start with.

Blackmon, who moved to the Cape Girardeau Central school district, was declared ineligible by the Missouri State High School Activities Association when she moved back to Scott Central shortly after the beginning of last year's basketball season.

Blackmon started at Scott Central two years at point guard, but will play the No. 3 position this season.

Miller last year averaged 13.2 points and 10 rebounds per game."She will actually be a better post player than she was last year," Penrod said. "She's one of those players who grabs whatever's left on the offensive glass and I think she'll shine more this year."Casandra Daniel (5-3), a senior, and junior Terika Brown (5-8) will likely round out the starting rotation, but after that the Bravettes get really young.

The rest of the team consists of sophomore Falisha Winston (5-2) and freshmen Ashley Brown (5-2), Staphanie Maney (5-4) and Ladonna Lovel (5-6).Penrod doesn't know quite what to expect from her young players."That's the biggest think I'm ready to see is how the young ones respond to playing varsity," she said. "I can't tell you they're totally ready. It's pretty difficult to make that adjustment. Even though we're a 1A team, we play a tough schedule."Though the team is young and lacking in numbers, Penrod has liked what she has seen."This a team-oriented group," she said. "There's no individualism. They complement each other when they're playing well. Watching them play, they're an enjoyable team to watch when they play together."The Bravettes lost their leading scorer, Ashley Whitson, from last year's team. Whitson was one of the best players in the area last year.

Scott Central opened the season Nov. 23 against Greenville.