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Coming off two radically different seasons, the Davis and Syracuse girls' basketball teams have one thing in common this season: They will have young, inexperienced players taking the court and new girls stepping into leadership roles.
Davis
The Davis girls basketball team starts this season after finishing last season with a 2-19 record at the bottom of the Region 1 standings. But with three returning starters, the Darts hope to make big improvement this season.
After a little over a week of team practice, Davis Head Coach Amy Wright said she is encouraged by what she has seen.
"I'm excited for the fact that we have some size for the post and some speed on the perimeter," she said. "The two things go hand-in-hand."
Three returning starters from last season — Katelyn Mager, Courtney Hurst and Krysta Eskelsen — are eyed as leaders and producers for the Davis team this season. Each scored an average of nine points per game, but will need to give the team more than that this season.
The rest of the players haven't clocked many varsity minutes and will need to find a way to come together as a team quickly to be successful this season.
"We are kind of young so making sure we have everyone on the same page is going to be critical for us," Wright said. "These girls are willing and want to work hard, which is exciting for me as a coach, because it takes that drive to be able to compete."
Davis will kick off its season Tuesday with a game against Kearns.
Syracuse
The Titans had a perfect season last year, winning 25 straight games and a state title, but Syracuse lost four seniors and three starters.
Coach Rob Reisbeck said he is looking forward to seeing what some of the younger girls on the team can do. "I'm just excited to get back out there and see these new girls step into these new roles," Reisbeck said.
The Titans will look to MaKenelee Williams, Brittney Martin and Kiana Fonua — who combined for an average 33 points per game last season — to step up and lead the team. The rest of Syracuse's players will have to find confidence on the court to be successful this season. Big Game- Bountiful at Northridge boys' basketball, 7 p.m., Tuesday
Big Number- 201, number of wins Larry Wall has as head coach of the Bountiful football team.