St. Vincent hopes drop to Class 2 pays off in playoffs

St. Vincent returns only one starter from a team which finished 8-15 last season.

Fortunately, that one player led the team in scoring with more than 10 points per game and was second in rebounding. Sierra Paulus is a 5-foot-10 post player who will be looked on to score and rebound even more with a very inexperienced team.

"Sierra gives us a good inside presence," Coach Terry Wengert said. "She runs the floor well, she jumps well and has a nice shot. She can step out and hit the jumper from 10 to 12 feet."

Paulus, who also played some on the varsity level as a sophomore, will be joined by a group of players with little varsity experience. Joy Donze was in the regular rotation last year. Laura Gremaud played in the first half of the season but then was hurt. She recently dislocated her shoulder and could miss some time early this season.

The addition of senior guard Stacy Brown also should help. She played in the program as a freshman and sophomore but sat out last season.

Any hope for improvement this season will depend on help from a group of juniors who played on a junior varsity team which finished around .500 last season. One of those juniors, Theresa Mattingly, is expected to be the starting point guard.

"If we can stay healthy and continue to work hard, we should do fine," Wengert said. "We are on the small side and had some trouble with bigger teams last year.

"We definitely need to improve defensively. That was an area in which we struggled last season. We do have some good athletes who run the floor well."

Wengert said she hopes to do well in the Jefferson County Conference small school division.

"St. Pius is the main team we will need to beat," Wengert said. "We played them close last year, but they have most everybody back this year. They should be very, very tough."

The Indians have dropped a class from one of the smallest Class 3 teams in Missouri to Class 2. They will also get to host a district tournament at the Perryville Community Center.

"That is something we have wanted to do for a long time," Wengert said. "We are excited to be the host."

St. Vincent tips off the season in the Ste. Genevieve Valle Tournament, which begins Dec. 1.