Pirates return entire starting lineup

It was a rebuilding year for Perryville last season, yet the Pirates posted a 16-10 record.

Coach Vicki Lohmann can't wait to get the season started because she returns every starter from last year's team.

"Out of those starters I have, a couple have started, this is going to be their third year," she said. "I'm looking for a lot of experience there. We did well this summer. We got a good mix of girls in our lineup now."

With so much experience back, it allows Lohmann to tweak her practices. She's leaning on her experienced returners to do some of the teaching.

"I can take one of those younger players and get the older ones to take them under their wing," she said. "They step on the floor and they tell them what they need to do. It makes it a lot easier. Some of those upperclassmen are really taking it on themselves to kind of be a mentor for the younger ones and teach them what I expect as a coach."

One thing that's helped the Pirates is experience over the summer. Lohmann had four of her five starters play AAU games over the summer. She said there's a noticeable difference in those players.

"They went to the national tournament," Lohmann said. "They weren't successful there, but the experience and the time they put in over the summer has really shown, the things that they know that I don't have to re-teach. I can see how much more advanced they are from that experience with the AAU. They're just bringing those underclassmen in and teaching them the things they need to know."

Another bright spot for the Pirates is depth in the program. There were only 12 girls who played basketball on the varsity and junior varsity teams last season. This year, there are 25 girls in the program.

"We have a big freshman class," Lohmann said. "Some of those freshmen are going to see a little varsity time. Maybe not at the beginning of the season, but toward the end of the season. We have some large bodies coming in as freshmen. We're really looking forward to what our future holds here."

Lohmann was pleased with last season's record, but she wants to see her team take another step forward and win close games. She's confident the added experience will prove the difference.

"We lost some games last year by a few points, a few games we shouldn't have lost," she said. "They feel pretty positive about what we can accomplish this year and hopefully we can make a run for the district title."