CHAFFEE GIRLS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Paulette Crouthers begins her first season as Chaffee's girls basketball coach looking to be competitive and hoping for more.

"I think we'll be very competitive," said Crouthers, who coached at Risco last year. "Our main goal is just to improve because we've still kind of got a young team. I hope we'll at least be .500, but I just don't know yet."

What Crouthers does know is that she has a hard-working group. Said the new coach, "They're working extremely hard. I think this is a good group of girls. They do what we ask of them in practice."

Three starters return from last year's squad that went 9-14. Brandi Foulk, a 5-foot-5 senior, will direct the Lady Red Devils from her point guard position. Adria Meyr, a 5-11 center, is the squad's other senior. Kate Nolen, a 5-11 junior, also returns.

"We'll be counting on those three quite a bit," said Crouthers. "Brandi is very quick and I think she'll do a good job at point guard. Adria and Kate are our two tallest players so they'll be important."

The rest of the squad is comprised of three juniors and two sophomores. The juniors are 5-5 Jennifer Finley, 5-4 Stevie Burks and 5-7 Jamie Duncan while the sophomores are 5-8 Jill Little and 5-6 Amy Burnett.

"We're not real big outside of Adria and Kate, but I think we'll be quick," Crouthers said. "I like to play run and gun and so far the girls have picked up on that style well. We're going to try and run whenever we can."

Chaffee opens the season next Monday at Scott City. Crouthers knows quite a bit about the teams in this area from her coaching days at Risco and she knows that the Lady Red Devils have their work cut out for them.

"This is a very competitive area for basketball," she said. "Scott City, Scott County Central, Kelly, Delta, all those teams are really good and so are quite a few others.

"We're going to have a lot of tough games but the girls have been doing a good job in practice and working well. We're excited about the season."