Without seniors, Red Devils begin youth movement

After having four senior starters and two other seniors last year, Chaffee has none this year.

The Red Devils also have a new coach. Chance White, a former boys basketball assistant at Advance, takes over for Tyson Moyers, who was the coach for one season.

"We're going to push the ball up the floor and pressure the ball at all times," White said. "We're going to pressure full court.

"The girls are real coachable. They're picking up on things real quick. We've got talent."

Much of the talent is very young. White is impressed by a freshman class that was part of a conference championship in junior high. That team had a nine-game winning streak and beat Woodland in a tournament at the end of the season.

"That freshman class has a lot of athletic ability and a lot of height," White said. "That will help us with the pressure on defense."

Chaffee was 9-15 last year, grabbing the No. 3 seed in the district tournament and falling to No. 2 seed Van Buren in the semifinal round.

With four senior starters gone and no seniors to rely on, White may be doing some rebuilding this season.

"Especially being so young," he said. "With only three juniors, we're going to have to have some young kids really, really, really step up."

White wasn't certain on his starting lineup or which of the younger players would be contributors yet.

The three returning juniors are Kegan Orr, Suzanne Reischmann and Mindy Hendrix. Orr, a 5-7 guard who hit double figures on a few occasions, and Hendrix, a 5-11 center, were able to crack into the team's seven-player rotation last season.

Chaffee opens the season Monday against Scott City.