Panthers reached district final last year in only their second year of existence

The Meadow Heights girls basketball program, in its third year of existence, would like to take another step forward and build off the experience of last year's district final appearance.

Mitch Nanney, also the Meadow Heights principal, will guide a team that has three starters who have been prominent players in the program since its inaugural two-win season -- senior forward Amanda Hendrickson and juniors Chelsey Kight and Ashley Doublin.

That trio and senior center Sahra Mills helped the Panthers reach the Class 2 district championship game last year, where they lost 50-14 to St. Vincent.

"It was a good experience to get to the district final last year," Nanney said. "The kids didn't know what it was like because you can't practice for something like that. There were 1,500 people there to watch. It was a new experience.

"Our freshmen sat on the bench behind us and got to see what it was like, too."

Those current freshmen are ready to step into big varsity roles this winter.

Six freshmen are expected to contribute, Nanney said, and they will add quality to the roster.

The junior high team, which has been around two years longer than the varsity, was 23-1 last year, led by Deanna Cureton, Danielle Welker, Heather Dietiker and Jillian Mills.

"They're competitive and they want to keep it at a high level," Nanney said.

"We'd like to get to double digits [in wins], and we think we have a chance to do that," he added.

"We want to play at a fast tempo," Nanney said. "We're not a very big team, so we're going to have to pressure the ball and try to get up and down the floor."