The Denton Lady Broncos will be hard-pressed to repeat last year’s dominating regular season performance in District 5-4A play, but that doesn’t mean they are not going to try.

They have lost a number of players, most notably guards Anny Tseng and Tra Thomas, who set the district on fire last season. It is now up to Denton’s younger players, who have played well this preseason, to play well when it counts.

This year, Denton will continue to focus on the defensive end of the court, building on the foundation set by second-year head coach Dennis Krishka, who was the District 5-4A coach of the year in his first season.

Before the defensive-minded Krishka arrived, the Broncos were mainly a full-court offensive team. He changed that. It’s not that Krishka only knows defense, he said, it’s just what the roster was best suited for.

“We try to adapt to our personnel,” he said. “In college you can recruit to your style, but in high school you have to mold the system around the players.”

This year, the Lady Broncos should be solid at the post, so don’t expect to see Krishka deviate from what has already worked for him. With a less experienced team, he said, it is even more important to emphasize the defensive aspects of the game.

The Lady Broncos are coming off a year in which they won the District 5-4A title, cleaned up on the all-district team and fielded the district MVP, district offensive MVP and district Sixth Man of the Year.

To contend with the other teams in a strong district, the Lady Broncos have returned some very good players. Senior post DaLissa Gaines won the Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds coming off the bench last season. First-team all-district guard Brittani Brock is also returning for her senior season.

Gaines, along with Maya Dergham and Marlee Ross, have all returned to the team after the three made honorable mention all-district last season.

Dergham is a 5-9 junior post player and Ross is a 5-9 junior wing.

Included among the newcomers on this year’s varsity team will be two sisters, Ilke Begec and Ilkin Begec, with Ilke expected to start at guard. Senior guard Shomya Tripathy will also see playing time.

Senior Jennifer Sloat and juniors Jazmin Bodley and Demira Manuel will round out the players at the wing position, while Jaime Riser and Callie Saltsman will play at the post.

The girls have a lot of talent, Krishka said, but the numbers are not in their favor.

“I think we’re going to be strong in the post,” he said. “But I am a little concerned about depth right now.”

Last year’s team finished 23-11 overall and steamrolled the district, finishing with an 11-1 record. The Lady Broncos lost 46-43 to a powerful Stephenville team in the area round of the playoffs.

MONTY MILLER can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mwmiller@dentonrc.com.